Dr. Abdillahi Saggaf Alawy is a highly accomplished Kenyan agricultural economist, technocrat, and the nominated Chairperson of the National Land Commission (NLC). On February 17, 2026, President William Ruto nominated Dr. Alawy to succeed Gershom Otachi, whose six-year term expired in November 2025. This critical appointment—facilitated following a Court of Appeal ruling—thrusts Dr. Alawy into one of Kenya's most politically sensitive and emotive constitutional offices, tasked with managing public land, investigating historical land injustices, and recommending national land policies. Dr. Alawy brings over two decades of robust leadership experience in land governance, public administration, and agricultural development. He holds an extensive academic pedigree from The Ohio State University, culminating in a PhD in Agricultural Education with a specialization in monitoring, evaluation, and gender studies. Prior to his NLC nomination, he served as the Chairman of the Board of the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC/Lands Ltd.), where he was credited with steering strategic reforms to embed transparency in state land management and optimize land-based investments for food security. On the global stage, he previously served as the Global Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning at the Centre for Agriculture & Bioscience International (CABI) in the United Kingdom, where he oversaw complex agricultural and land-use programs across 43 countries. His grassroots foundation in land matters was forged early in his career as a District Agricultural Extension Officer in Lamu, giving him firsthand exposure to rural land adjudication and settlement disputes. Beyond his impressive professional résumé, Dr. Alawy's personal background is deeply intertwined with the very historical land injustices the NLC is mandated to resolve. He hails from the Saggaf family, descendants of the earliest settlers of Wasini Island in Kwale County, who migrated from Vumba Kuu over 400 years ago. In September 2025, culminating a grueling 50-year legal and administrative struggle involving the NLC and the courts, the government finally issued his family a freehold title deed for 610.35 acres of Wasini Island (originally recognized in a 1908 land ordinance). This monumental reclamation of ancestral land adds a profound, personal dimension to his leadership at the NLC, as he transitions from a victim of historical land marginalization to the chief arbiter of land justice in the Republic of Kenya.