The Kenya Embassy in Luanda was established as part of a deliberate expansion of Kenya's footprint in Southern Africa. Following President Uhuru Kenyatta's State Visit to Angola in June 2014, the two governments signed a framework of cooperation instruments — including a General Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Cultural and Technical Cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations between the two foreign ministries, and an instrument establishing a Joint Commission for Cooperation. The Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya subsequently resolved, on 15 January 2015, to open a resident mission in Luanda to give effect to these instruments and to consolidate Kenya's presence in the Southern African region. (See Angola–Kenya relations.)

The Mission today is listed among the resident diplomatic missions of the Republic of Kenya by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and serves as Kenya's primary channel of engagement with the Government of the Republic of Angola in Luanda.

The Kenya–Angola partnership has matured steadily since the 2014 framework was signed. A milestone came on 19 October 2023, when Nairobi hosted the inaugural session of the 1st Joint Bilateral Commission between Kenya and Angola. The delegations were led by the then Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya, the Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, and by H.E. Ambassador Téte António, Minister of External Relations of Angola.

At that session the two States signed eleven legal instruments covering wildlife management, maritime cooperation, agriculture, telecommunications and ICT, oil and gas, mining and geology, health collaboration and capacity building in the public service — substantially broadening the working agenda of the Embassy.

In line with the foreign policy of the Republic of Kenya, as articulated by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, the Embassy in Luanda is mandated to:

• Represent the Republic of Kenya in the Republic of Angola and engage host-country authorities on all matters of bilateral interest.
• Project, promote and protect Kenya's national interests, including peace and security, trade and investment, and the welfare of Kenyans abroad.
• Implement Kenya's economic and commercial diplomacy agenda — with a particular focus on energy, oil and gas, agribusiness, ICT and services where Angolan demand and Kenyan capability intersect.
• Provide consular services to Kenyan nationals and to Angolan and third-country travellers seeking to engage with Kenya.
• Engage Angola in its capacity as a member of the Southern African Development Community on regional integration, peace and security, and continental priorities including the African Continental Free Trade Area.
• Support and mobilise the Kenyan diaspora in Angola — registering Kenyans, channelling opportunities and responding in moments of distress.

Luanda is Kenya's lead window into Lusophone Africa and a critical node in Nairobi's Southern African footprint. Although Kenya itself is not a SADC member State, the Embassy works closely with Angola — a SADC Member State and historically central to the bloc's peace and security architecture — on shared continental concerns. The Mission also liaises with Kenya's other Southern African embassies, including Lusaka and Maputo, to ensure a coherent Kenyan voice across the region.