Lilian Seenoi-Barr who is 42 years old was born in Kenya and grew up in Narok in a family of 14 siblings their father was a doctor while their mother ran a business.

She is a Maasai and in her early years she recalled having to fight against early marriage and female genital mutilation What is FGM? | End FGM.

Lilian moved to Northern Ireland in 2010 as a refugee where she married a local Irish Man, and has a son, who is autistic.

She was elected to the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) which she first ran as a counselor and lost in 2019 and was later co-opted in 2021 and held her seat in the 2023 local elections.  Her party nominated her as a mayor under a rotating system with other parties in Northern Ireland’s second city.

Lilian and her husband

Before she joined politics Lilian founded and ran an advocacy network, North West Migrants Forum, where she remains the director and it has since grown to 6 members of staff and more than 50 volunteers.

Her election as a mayor has been welcomed by many people and she has been viewed as a symbol of progressive politics, and tolerance of cultural diversity.

However, it has also created significant backlash and racism against immigrants and refugees by her opponents who claim Northern Ireland is being taken over by foreigners and asylum seekers.

Racist groups in America such as the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have used Lilian’s success to spread hate and conspiracy towards people of colour in Northern Ireland leaving many afraid of potential racist attacks.