Harrison Keter elected as IEK President

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Harrison Keter has been elected as the President of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), taking the reins from Shammah Kiteme whose term stated in 2024.

Keter won the elections that were for the first time conducted electronically and recorded the highest turnout in the institution’s history.

In his acceptance speech, Keter pledged to unite the engineering profession and prioritise engineering education, mentorship and workforce development, particularly for young engineers.

"Our immediate priorities are to restore unity and strengthen engagement across our membership while strengthening engineering education, mentorship and workforce development, especially for our young engineers," he said.

He also committed to strengthening collaboration across the engineering fraternity, bringing together consulting engineers, professional engineers, technicians, artisans and students to advance the profession and support national development.

Keter also challenged policymakers to ensure that major infrastructure investments create employment opportunities for local engineers and reduce reliance on foreign expertise. He urged engineers to take a more active role in shaping national policy, arguing that the profession must move beyond project implementation to influencing strategic development.

"The time has come for us to occupy our rightful space as engineers not through entitlement, but through excellence, innovation, professionalism and integrity," he said.

Keter further said Kenya's ongoing investments in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and technology should translate into greater opportunities for local engineers, while calling for stronger efforts to develop home-grown engineering expertise capable of competing globally.

An engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Keter has expertise in electromechanical engineering, project management and renewable energy technologies.

The newly elected IEK Council will serve a two-year term until 2028, when the next elections are expected to be held.