Former Kenyan navigator earns landmark role at weekend's World Rally Championship leg in Estonia
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Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 17.07.26. | 20:25
The 50-year-old has previously served as an observer steward at elite international events, including Formula 1 races
One of Kenya's prominent figures in motorsport, Tuta Mionki, has made history after being appointed as an FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) steward for this weekend's WRC Delfi Rally Estonia, which concludes on Sunday, 19 July.
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Mionki, a former raly driver and navigator, was selected to officiate the ninth round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, thus becoming the first Kenyan woman to play that role at the highest level of the sport (WRC).
The 50-year-old Thika native will serve in the city of Tartu alongside Stewards' Chairperson Mathieu Remmerie of Belgium, and ASN Steward Oliver Ojaveer of Estonia, on the three-person stewards panel.
Mionki's elevation to the WRC panel marks a significant step for Kenya on the global motorsport stage, and follows her years of service in national and regional championships, where she has built a reputation for professionalism and consistency in race control and stewarding.
A human rights professional, Mionki began her life in motorsport as a navigator in 2011, a period that kickstarted her collaboration with several Kenyan drivers including: Eric Bengi, Victor Okundi, Nzioka Waita, Murage Waigwa, Helen Shiri and Steve Gacheru.
In 2015, Mionki was awarded the best co-driver of the season (Division Three), at the Kenya Motor Sports Federation Awards, before sccooping a similar gong a year later, for the 2-wheel-drive category.
In 2018, the co-driver also made history by becoming the first woman to win the Kenya Motor Sport Federation Motor Sports Personality of the Year.
Having gone through an FIA International Steward’s Training programme in 2022, Mionki has over the years risen to big heights in the sport, including rendering her services as a HPP (High Performance Programme) observer at the F1 (Formula 1) Qatar Grand Prix, a role that saw her shadow FIA stewards in race control, to monitor safety, driver behavior, and potential infringements via telemetry and video replays.
Last year, Mionki made her debut full steward role at the inaugural South African Safari Rally, which hosted round three of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship at Sun City.
Additionally, Africa's first female FIA steward served as Kenya's ASN (Autorité Sportive Nationale Steward) on an all-women steward panel at the home Safari Rally, this coming a year after she had become the first Kenyan woman to assume the role of Chairperson of the Stewards at international events, including Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, and a number of Africa Rally Championship legs in Rwanda, Zambia and Burundi.