Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki is a Kenyan political scientist, Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and former Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET).[1]
Wanyeki was born in 1972 of a Canadian mother and Kenyan (Kikuyu) father, and grew up in Kenya. In 1988 she was admitted to the university in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father died in 1990. One of her first jobs after returning to Kenya was development work in rural Ukambani.[2] While in her early thirties she succeeded Njoki Wainaina as executive director of FEMNET. At first she saw her role as an administrator in an organization dominated by a board of conservative older women. Later she found that her position gave her credibility as a highly sought-after speaker on human rights, gender equity and development. She also started writing a weekly column in the East African newspaper.[3]
After becoming Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, during the political crisis in early 2008 she received death threats due to statements she had made about the elections, describing her as a traitor to the Kikuyu people.[4] As of 2011 she was a member of the International Advisory Network for the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.[1] She is currently a member of the board of the Open Society Justice Initiative, an organization that uses law to protect and empower people around the world.[5]