Until March 2013, Achieng Maureen Akena was the AU legal analyst for the Open Society Initiative for East Africa. Prior to joining OSIEA, she worked with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) as a human rights officer. From 2006 to 2007 she worked with International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) in Uganda where she coordinated a project on international justice in Africa.
From 1999 to 2006 she worked with DITSHWANELO–The Botswana Centre for Human Rights as an officer for the activism and information programs. She studied law at Nagpur University in India and human rights law at the Central European University (CEU) in Hungary. She is a member of the Kenyan bar.