Our Team in Eswatini

Mr. George Wachira of Kenya brings more than 30 years of experience at the interface of development, governance, conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Since joining the UN in 2011, he served as the UN Peace and Development Advisor in Guyana, Lesotho and lately in Eritrea where he led UN conflict prevention, strategic political analysis, peacebuilding, electoral support, political dialogue, human rights, national reforms and capacity building programmes. He also served as Head of the Governance and Peacebuilding Unit of UNDP in Lesotho.

Prior to joining the UN System, he worked for 20 years in various capacities, including as executive director, for Nairobi Peace Initiative-Africa, a pioneering peacebuilding organisation from where he helped shape peacebuilding practice in eastern, central and western African countries.
Mr. Wachira obtained his master’s degree in international peace studies from the University of Notre Dame in the USA and a bachelor’s degree in government and anthropology from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

Hloniphile Mabuza is the Regional Programme Coordinator - Migration Health for IOM Southern Africa overseeing the SRHR/HIV Knows No Borders (KNB) Programme. She is a Medical Doctor and an Infectious Diseases Epidemiologist with 22 years combined clinical and public health experience with particular focus on HIV, TB, COVID-19 and SRHR. She has worked for several International Non-Governmental Organizations (iNGOs) providing technical assistance to Ministries of Health and Implementing Partners through health diplomacy, policy development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects in the Southern Africa region.

Dr Maxime Houinato is the Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Region with effect from 1st September 2021. Dr Houinato has been UN Women’s Country Representative in Uganda since 2018 where he contributed to a significant growth of programme through the successful implementation of a robust resource mobilization strategy. Before joining Uganda Country office, he served as UN Women's Deputy Regional Director of WCARO (6 years: 2008-2014 in Dakar) and Country Representative in Mali (4 years: 2014-2018 in Bamako). He has been an active member of the UN Regional Quality & Support Assurance (QSA) Team of the UNDG in West Africa, and a key contributor to UN’s "Deliver as One" (DaO) model. Dr Houinato has supported the design and implementation of a series of positive legislation, public policies, and large-scale programs to promote women’s leadership, the involvement of women in business and critical value-chains as well as ending violence against women and girls.

Prior to joining the UN, between 2000 and 2008, Dr. Maxime held the roles of Deputy Regional Director (West Africa), and Regional Director (Southern Africa) for Oxfam UK. He has also worked for other International NGOs including Catholic Relief Services, Africare, and the Academy for Educational Development – in various capacities and locations including Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Niger, the UK and Thailand.

Maxime holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Abomey-Calavi University in Benin, a Master of Arts (MA) in International Development from Brandeis University in the US and a Doctorate (PhD) in Applied Sociology from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal.

Dr Patrice Talla Takoukam, a national of Cameroon, has been FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa since September 2020. Prior to that Dr Talla was FAO Representative in Madagascar and covering Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles, under the multiple-accreditation scheme.
Dr Talla joined FAO headquarters in 2001 as Legal Officer in the Law and Development Service of the Legal Office. In 2004, he transferred to the World Bank in Washington DC, United States, as Legal Officer/Counsel in the Environment and International Law Unit, Legal Department.
He returned to FAO headquarters in 2010, where he served as Legal Officer in the Development Law Service, Legal Office. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in International Environmental Law and Public Law from the University of Limoges in France.

Prof. Hubert Gijzen holds a PhD in Biotechnology and joined UNESCO in 2006 as the Director of the UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. In 2015, he was appointed as the Regional Director of the newly established UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. In this capacity he also serves as the UNESCO Representative to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. He also is the UNESCO Representative to SADC, and he serves on the UN Regional Directors Team for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Henrik Franklin, a Swedish national, brings over 25 years of extensive experience in international development, with a focus on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. His expertise spans strategic and operational management, portfolio management, quality assurance, and change management.

Prior to this appointment, he has served as Director at the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) in Helsinki, Finland, where he spearheaded climate change initiatives in lower-income countries. Before joining the NDF in 2021, Mr. Franklin held various leadership positions at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), including Lead Portfolio Advisor for the East and Southern Africa Division, member of the Operational Excellence for Results team in the Office of the President, Head of the Andean and Southern Cone Hub, and Head of the Regional Office in Nairobi a.i. Additionally, Mr. Franklin's career includes stints at the African Development Bank (AfDB) as Chief Quality Assurance Officer and Country Programme Officer in Mozambique. He has also served as a natural resources and environment specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank in Ecuador, Honduras, and at the headquarters, as well as for the European Commission in Vietnam. Academically, Mr. Franklin holds a Master of Science degree in biology from Stockholm University in Sweden, complemented by studies in economics and environmental management. He is also an Associate Certified Coach, further enhancing his multifaceted expertise.

Howard Velibanti Mbuyisa is a holder of a BA Degree in Social Sciences majoring in Economics and Geography, and has an MSc Degree in Agriculture Economics. Before joining FAO as an Assistant FAO Representative, he was the Director for the Eswatini Agricultural Development Fund (EADF) and was the CAADP Focal Point leading the food systems transformation agenda for Eswatini.

Ms. Jane Marie Ongolo (Kenya) newly appointed UNODC’s Representative of the Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSAF).
Jane Marie has over twenty-five years of relevant substantive and managerial experience in national and international positions of increasing responsibility, including work at the continental level with the African Union Commission.
During her career, she has served in various capacities including: Head of Social Welfare, Vulnerable Groups, Drug Control and Crime Prevention with the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia since 2018; Programme Manager, AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention with the African Union Commission (2010-2018); National Programme Officer (HIV/AIDS) and National Project Officer (Drug Abuse and HIV Prevention) with UNODC ROEA in Nairobi (2005-2010); Regional Governance Advisor, East and Central Africa with the British Council in Kenya (2003-2005); National Programme Manager with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Kenya (1999-2003);
Development Officer, DFID Civil Society Umbrella Project with the British Council in Kenya (1998-1999); Programme Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer with Sinaga Women and Child Labour Resource Centre (NGO) in Kenya (1995-1998); and Children´s Officer with the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home Affairs and National Heritage, Department of Child (Government) in Kenya (1991-1995).
Jane Marie holds a doctorate in Business & Administration from the Bulacan State University and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. She is fluent in English and has a basic knowledge of French.

Ms. Kavita Belani is a Malaysian national and a senior international civil servant with 25 years of service with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Over the course of her career, she has held leadership and advisory roles across Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe, working in complex political and humanitarian contexts.

She previously served as UNHCR Representative in Armenia, leading the Office’s engagement with national authorities and regional partners. Her prior assignments include Deputy Chief of Mission in India, Senior Protection Cluster Coordinator in South Sudan, and Liaison Officer to the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa in Ethiopia. She has also served in Lebanon, Sudan, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, and Thailand in various protection, management, policy and coordination roles.

Ms. Belani is a law professional and a trained classical pianist, with a strong foundation in legal practice and the arts that has supported her cross-cultural and diplomatic work.

Fluent in Malay and English, she also speaks Indonesian, Hindi, Urdu, Swahili, and Thai, enabling her to operate effectively in diverse linguistic and cultural environments.

She brings to her work a principled commitment to international law, refugee protection, and the strengthening of multilateral cooperation in response to global displacement challenges.

Mandisa Zwane-Machakata has joined UNESCO as the National Project Officer in July 2024. She is a seasoned Public health law practitioner with experience in advancing Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, HIV and Gender Equality in Eswatini and in the SADC region. She comes from SAfAIDS Eswatini Country Office, where she was the Country Representative. She has been active in advancing social justice for populations left behind as part of civil society and in her role on the CANGO Board for 5 years where she has served as Chairperson for 2 years. In her passion to strengthen Civil Society capacity in Eswatini, she has served on several NGO Boards including NATICC, SWANNEPHA and Voice of Our Voices.

Prior to that she focused on strengthening the HIV and Human Rights response at UNDP and strengthening the HIV response in the workplace under the ILO project in Eswatini.

For over 15 years, Margaret Thwala -Tembe has been a leader of note in the sexual and reproductive health space, with a focus on maternal health. She is currently the Head of Office at UNFPA Eswatini country office, a role that she assumed in 2020. Many in Eswatini may know her from her time at the Southern Africa Nazarene University, where she served as a Senior Lecturer. Indeed, she exhibited her commitment to the profession through the high skilled crop of nurse-midwives produced at the time and the alignment of the midwifery curriculum with the current needs of Emaswati.

Ms. Thwala -Tembe believes a true leader never stops learning. One would have thought that she had learned enough when she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree with Community Nursing and Midwifery from University of Zambia. However, in 1994, Margaret surprised many when her life took another turn as she flew to the UK to pursue a Master of Science Degree in Nursing Education and Transcultural studies at the University of Wales in Cardiff.

Because, in her words, “midwives are people who care for others”, Margaret went even further in her learning and teaching journey upon taking over a counselling programme as the Head of the Eswatini Action Group Against Abuse. Her compassionate nature and natural empathy for others made her excel in that field of health, enabling SWAGAA’s counselling wing to grow from strength to strength.

Margaret went on to successfully pioneer an environment and health programme fin her Coordination role for the Natural Resources Management Programme at Yonge Nawe. Innovation and flexibility are some of the qualities and strengths that she demonstrated in her health and environment functions.

Nanga KAYE is a Senior International Agricultural Development Expert with 18 years of professional experience in research, production, training, and indigenous crops and practices. He brings a strong passion for reshaping and transforming agriculture and food systems across Sub‑Saharan Africa. Born in Chad, Central Africa, Nanga moved to the United States at an early age, where lived and pursued higher education in agronomy and natural resources management at Purdue University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Since 2014, Nanga has been supporting the work of the World Food Programme (WFP) as a Programme Policy Officer, managing a wide range of initiatives aimed at improving food security, smallholder productivity and market access, and enhancing resilient rural livelihoods. He is fluent in English and French and have travelled extensive across Africa. Prior to taking up his assignment in Eswatini, Nanga have worked in Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Burundi respectively.

Before returning to Africa, Nanga worked in Washington, D.C. as an International Agricultural Development Consultant. He worked as a technical evaluator of agriculture-based projects for the World Bank Development Marketplace Competitions. At the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Nanga worked as a research collaborator responsible for leading efforts to characterize and map agricultural production systems and cropping patterns across Sub‑Saharan Africa. Nanga was contracted by several International Non-Government Organizations to conduct food security vulnerability assessments and develop multi-year and multi-million-dollar grant proposals to support food security, nutrition, and livelihood programmes across Africa.

Nanga remains committed to advancing national and regional food systems that enhance agricultural productivity, promote nutrition-focused value chains, support climate‑change adaptation, and create resilient, sustainable livelihood opportunities.