UK High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan announces exit

According to the British High Commission, Wigan will be taking up a new position of Director General Strategy and Delivery at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London.

While announcing his departure, Wigan celebrated the strengthened ties between Kenya and United Kingdom, significantly benefitting both nations and their citizens.

"Since I arrived in 2023, the close partnership between our two great nations has seen the historic visit of His Majesty King Charles III, the signing of the new Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership, Kenyan marines trained by the UK, vital infrastructure investments including Nairobi Railway City and so much more," he said.

"I have also seen firsthand the incredible potential of Kenya and her people. From taking part in a Maasai elders meeting, to seeing how UK support is helping establish women-led businesses in Wajir, from the tea plantations of Bomet County to the Silicon Savannah, I have no doubt that Kenya’s future is bright. I have visited most of Kenya’s counties – I am sorry I have not visited them all."

The Embassy said that his successor will be announced in the coming months. Meanwhile, the Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr Ed Barnett, will be Chargé.

Wigan previously served as the British Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo from March 2010 to March 2013, Ambassador to Somalia from 2013 to 2015 and also served as ambassador to Israel, June 2019 to June 2023.

Neil has also worked in the Cabinet Office, working for the Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Adviser, and on Middle Eastern and EU economic issues within the FCO.