President William Ruto revealed on Tuesday that Colombian Vice President Francia Mina Marquez has discovered her ancestral roots in Kenya. Speaking at the ongoing Africa Climate Summit (ACS) held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Tuesday, President Ruto mentioned that Ms. Marquez, the second-in-command in Colombia, has also been identified by her Kenyan name, Nyawira. President Ruto went on to explain that during a recent visit to Kenya, Ms. Marquez traced her heritage back to Meru County.
“By the way, Francia has a Kenyan name – Nyawira. When she came to Kenya, we traced her ancestry to a place called Meru,” President Ruto stated following the Colombian VP’s address, which was met with applause.
In August 2020, Ms. Marquez declared her candidacy for Colombia’s top position in the 2022 presidential election as part of the Historic Pact for Colombia coalition. However, the coalition ultimately selected Gustavo Petro as its presidential candidate, with Ms. Marquez as his running mate. She was inaugurated into office on August 7, 2022, and was designated to assume the role of Minister for Women and Equality later in the year.
Ms. Marquez is the first Afro-Colombian woman to hold the position of Vice President in Colombia under the current government led by President Gustavo Petro. Notably, she is the second woman to occupy this position, following Marta Lucía Ramírez, who served from 2018 to 2022.
This year’s Africa Climate Summit has attracted over 10,000 delegates from around the world and is centered around the theme of “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World.” The summit commenced on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, serving as a precursor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), set to take place from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.