LocationsStanley Omambia
Kenya’s Public Service Stories of Change: The Faces Driving Digital Transformation
September 23, 2025
The first thing you notice about Abner Abaga is his calm presence. He sits upright, glasses balanced on the bridge of his nose, the faint hum of Nairobi traffic outside the window barely audible as he begins to speak. At first, his tone is measured, as if he were accustomed to speaking in boardrooms and policy forums. But as soon as the conversation turns to artificial intelligence, his eyes light up, his hands lift off the table, and suddenly you’re not just listening to a government official, you’re witnessing a man imagining a different Kenya.
Abner, the Deputy Director of ICT at the State Department of Devolution, has spent much of his career wrestling with the practical challenges of governance: disjointed county systems, endless stacks of files, databases that seem to operate in silos rather than in synergy. For years, digital transformation was a goal on the horizon, always discussed, rarely felt.
That shifted when he attended the training at the Africa Centre of Competence for Digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Skilling. “It was at that training,” he says, pausing as though weighing the right words, “that I truly began to understand the power of artificial intelligence and how it can transform service delivery in ways we hadn’t even imagined.”
For Abner, this breakthrough was revering. He could picture how algorithms might simplify complex datasets, how predictive models provide governments the foresight to plan ahead, how digital intelligence could shift governance from reactive to proactive.
What struck him most wasn’t just the technology itself, but the alignment with Kenya’s national priorities. “The content was so relevant,” he reflects. “Kenya’s Vision 2030, the Kenya National Digital Master Plan (2022–2032) all of these strategies came alive through the training.” You can almost hear the pride in his voice. This wasn’t theory. It was a bridge between ambition and action.
He leans forward, his tone sharpening with conviction. “Once we streamline our datasets and manage our information better across counties, artificial intelligence won’t just be a concept. It will be a practical tool helping us arrange, analyze, and use data in ways that directly improve service delivery at the grassroots.”
Then, almost unconsciously, his fingers tap lightly on the table, as if sketching the future in his mind. Then he smiles, as he imagines what this could mean for citizens. A farmer in Turkana getting timely updates on water access. A health officer in Kisumu receiving accurate data to stock essential medicines. A county official able to respond faster because systems finally talk to each other.
But his vision is not just technical, it’s generational. “The youth,” he says, with a tone that blends hope and urgency, “form the largest part of our workforce. They have an opportunity to harness these skills and lead this transformation from within.” His eyes soften as he adds, almost like a teacher speaking about his students, “They are the future of our government. And it is the digital transformation that will regulate the way we work, the way we deliver service.”
Across ministries, others share this sense of awakening. At the National Treasury, Richard Kiarie, another Deputy Director of ICT, describes the Centre as “a very large sea of opportunities for AI.” For a ministry tasked with steering the country’s finances, this shift is nothing short of critical.
“The training has made us think differently,” Richard explains. “We now ask: how can AI help us pinpoint areas where the government can raise more revenue?” His words mark a subtle but important change, from abstract discussions about technology to data-driven strategies that could redefine fiscal planning. He admits he wished the training had gone deeper, longer, but what it sparked was invaluable: a new way of thinking about governance.
At the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, Senior ICT Officer Carolyn Ndambuki tells her story with quiet but unmistakable pride. “I am now an architect of innovation,” she says, “rather than just a guardian of infrastructure.” She explains how modules on digital leadership, cybersecurity, and change management taught her to see technology not as wires and systems, but as a living, breathing tool for trust, efficiency, and citizen-centered governance.
When you listen to Abner, Richard, and Carolyn, their voices layer over each other. Different ministries, different mandates, but the same revelation: that governance in the digital era isn’t about adopting flashy tools, It’s about reimagining how government itself thinks, acts, and serves.
This was the design of the Africa Centre of Competence from the very beginning. To align with national strategies like Vision 2030. To embed global commitments such as the SDGs. To partner with state institutions and technology leaders so that knowledge is practical, not abstract. And, most of all, to invest in people, their skills, their perspectives, their capacity to lead.
And yet, the story is only beginning. For these ripples to become waves, partnerships must deepen. Scaling digital and AI training across Africa’s public sector requires more than vision; it requires collective investment, shared expertise, and long-term commitment. The Africa Centre of Competence has shown what is possible. With stronger support, it can do what it was always meant to: equip governments across the continent to govern inclusively, digitally, and for the future.
Enroll to the Programme: https://ksg.ac.ke/rcoc/
