Photo/From right: Mount Kenya University Vice-Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi, MKU Chairman Prof Simon Gicharu, and CPA Dr Aurelia Rono, Principal Secretary, State Department for Parliamentary Affairs and the guest speaker during the MKU’s 28th graduation , present a Sh6.5 million cheque to Samburu Member of County Assembly (MCA), Hon Lawrence Lorunyei Ekiru as the most outstanding Alumni .
By James Wakahiu
It was pomp and pageantry in Thika town yesterday as Mount Kenya University (MKU) held its 28th Graduation Ceremony at the Graduation Pavilion, Happy Valley Grounds along Garissa road.
Held under the theme from Knowledge to Nation-Building: Advancing Responsible Leadership and Governance through Higher Education Institutions, the event brought together distinguished guests, national leaders, education stakeholders, parents, and thousands of graduands celebrating the culmination of their academic journey.
Dr. Vincent Gaitho, Chairman of the University Council and the University Pro-Chancellor, reaffirmed MKU’s pivotal role in shaping responsible leadership and governance in Kenya and beyond. He said higher education Institutions play a transformative role in shaping leadership and governance for nation building.
“MKU has continued to shape the socio-economic development of nations through training, research and community engagement. With over 130,000 alumni base and a growing number of continuing students, MKU remains an engine of societal progress, influencing not only academic excellence but also the social, political and economic facets of nations,” he noted.
The chairman said MKU graduates from Science and Technology, business and social sciences have become policymakers, legislators, media influencers, entrepreneurs, innovators and change agents in various sectors through her vibrant 13 schools offering affordable and accessible quality education.
“MKU has continued to nurture leadership through curricula that emphasize critical thinking, ethics and civic responsibility,” Dr Gaitho said, adding that the leadership of the institution takes cognizance of the student governance acting as a stimulus to real-world leadership, while academic and leadership mentorship programs connect students with industry to be champions of the institutions they get to lead in either formal employment or self- employment ventures.
The council chairman said MKU contributes to good governance through research and innovation that informs decisions, advocating for transparency and accountability through academic discourse. “We foster active citizenship through public lectures, academic publications, acting as think tanks in various national taskforces and committees as well as strengthening governance by skilling and re-skilling professionals by offering specialized programmes, and hosting workshops and conferences in thematic areas,” he added.
MKU holds an international conference on peace every five years, seeking to promote national unity and cohesion and celebrate cultural diversity, facilitate dialogue across ethnic and political lines, and preserve national heritage. The college also supports various community outreach programmes and promotes volunteerism and social responsibility among staff and students.
Dr Gaitho urged the 2025 graduating class to remain connected to their alma mater through the Alumni Association in propagating the university agenda for national heritage beyond the lecture halls. “My council has approved the Alumni Award Policy to formally recognize and celebrate outstanding alumni who have demonstrated exemplary leadership, innovation, and service to society, their professions and the MKU community,” he said.
The policy applies to all MKU graduates and governs the call for nomination and selection of awardees under community service, professional excellence, public service and leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, global impact as well as research and innovation.
“MKU also envisions to be a leader in research and innovation. To this end, MKU has supported incubation hubs to support startups and entrepreneurship and partnership with industries to solve national challenges. MKU will continue to inculcate a democratic culture by teaching constitutional values, human rights encouraging academic freedom of thought, and producing informed graduates,” added the chairman.
Welcoming the guests, MKU Vice Chancellor Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi congratulated all the graduands for completing their studies successfully. “1 also appreciate the support accorded to the graduands by parents, guardians and staff among others, during their studies,” he said.
The VC said MKU has continued to mount new curricula as well as revise and revamp the existing curricula. This is informed by the need to impact relevant competences on students.
The institution is also nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship as a cornerstone of its mission to drive sustainable development and empower young people. At the Innovation and Incubation Centre, an environment has been built where ideas are transformed into practical, impactful enterprises that address real-world challenges.
Among the innovations emerging from this ecosystem is the ElementPay, a cutting-edge platform that enables fast, low-fee everyday payments using crypto wallets. This innovation was recently presented for Kenya at an Investor Readiness Program in Bali, Indonesia, showcasing the global competitiveness of our innovators and the strength of the ecosystem we are building at MKU.
“The MKU fraternity appreciates the continued awards of grants and equipment to the institution for high-quality, internationally-competitive research in molecular biology, genomics, immunology and parasitology received through Prof. Jesee Gitaka in 2025,” said the VC.
He said MKU has equipped the graduands, with the requisite industry–based knowledge, skills, and values essential for success in respective fields. “Go forth with confidence, integrity and a strong sense of purpose. Use the competencies you have acquired not only to pursue excellence in your careers but also to make meaningful and responsible leadership to the communities you will find yourself in and the world at large. Be bold, be innovative and let your actions inspire positive change,” he tipped the graduates.
The chief guest, CPA Dr Aurelia Rono, Principal Secretary, State Department for Parliamentary Affairs, office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, described the fete as a milestone that celebrates not only the academic achievements, but also the launch of a new, youthful and learned generation into the service of our beloved nation-Kenya.
“I celebrate each one of you as you transition to lifelong learning and advancement. This lifelong learning and advancement is proudly sponsored by the power to read and to undertake everything that appertains to their degrees that is delivered by this graduation event,” he said.
Quoting Dr Eleanor Rosevelt who once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,”, Dr Rono thanked the university council and management for the good governance and focused leadership that has made this graduation possible. to the lecturers, researchers, and staff of MKU.
He noted that the graduation theme ‘resonates deeply with the mandate of the government’. “For us at the State Department for Parliamentary Affairs, governance is more of our daily bread that we partake in our quest to propel our nation towards an even more responsible leadership. The State recognizes the value that academia brings to the table in terms of translating knowledge generated in institutions such as MKU into actionable policies and accountable governance structures,” he added.
The PS applauded MKU Founder and Chairman of the Board, Prof. Simon Gicharu, for being one of the key pillars in Kenya’s nation building. “His contribution and the support he lends to MKU is far from just about making the university a conveyor belt of academic qualifications but about calling its trainees into the crucible for civic duty,” he noted.
One of the hallmarks of responsible leadership and governance is already demonstrated by the on robust induction programmes that lay emphasis on accountability, prudent financial management, and collaboration between the student council and the university management is, in itself, a practical training ground for governance.
“We celebrate small and big success stories like the student-led Nanaheal Enterprises and EcoBlue, which is turning pineapple waste into carbon-negative fertiliser and harnessing clean drinking water from the atmosphere. Such feats, are currently being supported under the Africa Centre for Career Enhancement and Skill Support-ACCESS-DAAD project in collaboration with Leipzig University, and have been globally recognized by the Strengthening the Europe-Africa Digital Ecosystem.
“This is an EU-funded initiative under the Horizon Europe programme designed to enhance digital innovation and collaboration between Africa and Europe. We encourage more of such collaborative engagements which include the nursing programme that has seen over 100 young nurses work in Germany through MKU,” the PS said.
The PS noted the institutions’s consistent commitment through various Community and Social Responsibility initiatives. “From medical camps that serve thousands in disadvantaged communities, to your School of Education’s project funded by the National Research Fund (NRF), empowering inmates in the Kenya Prisons through andragogy and pedagogy, such activities are the purest form of responsible leadership, using privileged knowledge to uplift the less privileged,” he said.
He also appreciated the university’s deliberate steps towards inclusion, particularly its disability policy, which includes providing sign language interpreters and special considerations for bursaries at MKU. “Whether you enter public service, private enterprise, or academia, remember this one truth: your degree is a tool for service,” Dr Rono told the graduands.
MKU Chancellor, Prof John Struthers said graduation them theme highlights the role universities play in nation-building through the training of leaders to champion good governance for peaceful, strong and just societies. “It resonates well with MKU’s continued impact in global leadership through partnerships,” he noted.
The chancellor appreciated the diverse partnerships that the university has engaged in during the last few months. “Some of the new partnerships are at the County Government level, others are with local universities and organizations, while others are with regional and overseas universities and industries,” he said.
These include the Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy Partnership, the Rwanda Bar Association and MKU’s Institute for International and Development Law partnership and a deal between the Cooperative Bank of Kenya and MKU on staff-welfare matters. Further, there is a newly established academia-industry network with the renowned Chinese ICT industry and Higher Education Trainers.
Prof Struthers congratulated MKU for the continued engagement as the United Nations Academic Impact SDG 9 Hub Chair, where a new partner, the Hermilio Valdizán National University of Peru, has come on board to serve under the global leadership and coordination of MKU between 2025 and 2027. The other two Vice-Chairs working under MKU are the La Salle University (Spain) and Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan.
MKU founder and chairman of the Board of Directors, Prof Simon Gicharu also congratulated all the graduates, parents, guardians, MKU fraternity and heartily welcomed all the guests led by chief guest, Dr Aurelia Rono.
He highlighted MKU’s investment in new growth areas for students and alumni to identify potential non-conventional employment/self-employment opportunities. These include his board’s support to students’ and Alumni employability at Malindi Maritime Academy, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, sports and creative arts, and placement of German-bound apprentices.
“In support of the Malindi Maritime Academy, I have personally signed a partnership deal with the Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy (ADMA) with the view to strengthening the training at Malindi Maritime Academy. Signed in November 2025, the deal mandates ADMA to support Malindi Maritime Academy in capacity building and knowledge transfer development of foundational maritime education programs and Train-The-Trainer activities,” Prof Gicharu said.
The MKU’s Maritime Academy – ADMA partnership also caters for course development on emerging areas of interest, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in maritime applications, maritime safety and sustainability, joint promotion of maritime career education in East Africa, as well as joint research and innovation engagements in initiatives aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals with a special interest in SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.
Prof Gicharu said the university recently acquired an UBTECH Walker E-Educational Humanoid Robot, which has already been commissioned for the purpose of assisting the students to venture strongly into AI in line with the current global trends. “This is a big leap forward as the humanoid robot is a central equipment in advancing AI education, education robotics literacy, inter-disciplinary research, student innovation, and teacher training in alignment with MKU’s AI strategy and Kenya’s digital transformation agenda,” he added.
MKU has therefore joined other leading global universities that have integrated robotics and AI in their activities. These universities include Tianjin University of Technology and Education, Wuhan University, and Shenzhen University, among others.
Prof Gicharu said MKU, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has established a Dental school. “The board has acquired and commissioned key equipment including state-of-the-art dental chairs, phantom heads for the skills laboratory including fully equipped labs with Cadcam machines in readiness for the dentistry training. The equipment and facilities have also been backed up the installation of new dental chairs and renovation of the dental clinic at the Thika Level 5 Hospital for use by the proposed dental school,” he added.
In April 2026, MKU will launch the outreach ODEL Regional Centre in Kampala, Uganda, under the Equip Africa Institute’s ODEL Centre and Online Education. Once this centre is launched, it will have the capacity to accommodate about 500 students pursuing education at various levels and in different programs.
In Rwanda, the Kigali Paramount Hotel has been established where MKU’s hospitality students have been crossing over to Rwanda for attachments and internship opportunities. This is a 4-star luxury hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, located in Kicukiro District of Kigali town, next to the Mount Kigali University (Rwanda) along the highway that leads to the airport.
Nearer home, the School of Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Management will be completing the Vipingo Beach Front Hotel in Kilifi, which is a 5-star facility for training of hospitality students to make them market-ready and especially allow them the opportunity to link-up with the Malindi Maritime Academy to venture into seafarers-oriented professional engagements.
The chairman reminded the graduating class that MKU has set aside Sh100 million for an annual appreciation of our Alumni. The cash price will be given to beneficiaries of the alumni annual awards to go towards improving whatever they are doing.
In his acceptance remarks after award of the most outstanding Alumni award 2025, Lawrence Lorunyei Ekiru emphasized the spirit of the 2025 graduation theme, saying: “MKU did more than educate me—it nurtured my heart for service and taught me the transformative power of using knowledge to uplift communities.”
He encouraged graduands to embrace service as a lifelong calling, urging them: “You each have something meaningful to give. Start small, but start.”
Notable graduates included Samuel Thuita – Kenya’s Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Antony Ng’ang’a Mwaura – Chairman, Kenya Rural Roads Authority, Steve Thompson Magana, a Media personality and Hon. Gertrude Mbeyu Mwanyanje – Women Representative, Kilifi County.
Among the guests were the Chancellor, Mount Kigali University Rwanda, Prof. Egara Kabaji; Chairman, Mount Kigali University Governing Body, Dr. Innocent Mugisha; Vice-Chancellor, Mount Kigali University, Rwanda, Dr. Martin Kimemia; Pastor Anthony K. Mwangi, Senior Pastor, Life Church International, Members of the University Board of Directors and vice chancellors and representatives from other universities.
