Biography
Eileen Wakesho is a land and property rights practitioner with keen interest on women’s land rights. She is currently the Director, Land, Environment and Climate Program, Namati where she leads efforts to secure tenure rights for Indigenous and local communities. She previously served as Oxfam International women’s land rights Advisor, has worked with Kenya Land Alliance, Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF) and Kenya Institute for Public Policy, Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) focusing on women land rights, land governance and land and conflicts. She was also co-chair of the Scientific Committee of the African Land Policy Conference for 2021 and 2023.
Wakesho has co-authored peer-reviewed books and papers on informal justice mechanisms and formal courts in Kenya; Engagement with Local Communities: Land and Conflict; Reality or a Pipe Dream: Securing women rights in community land registration in Kenya among others. She holds a Master’s Degree in Project Planning and Management from the University of Nairobi and a bachelor’s degree in Communication. She has published numerous articles on women’s rights to property and community land protection. She is an alumni of University of Western Cape Political economy on Land Governance in Africa programme, Landesa’s Women Land Rights Visiting Professionals Program in Seattle Washington, and Sydney’s Law School Gender and Transitional Justice Fellowship.