Rok Ajulu, Capetown, South Africa

Prof Rok Ajulu and Judge Fikile Bam (left)

As minister for Defence in the cabinet named by new South African President Jacob Zuma, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu is undoubtedly one of the most powerful persons in the African powerhouse.

Ms Sisulu is the wife of a Kenyan, Prof. Rok Ajulu, one of the academics who fled the country at the height of the Moi repression targeting independent thinkers and perceived dissidents in the early 1980s.

Prof Ajulu told the Daily Nation on Tuesday that he was not surprised about the appointment since his wife was a fairly senior minister already.

“You are aware she has previously held very senior positions. Having been minister in the Intelligence docket, she has a feel of the happenings in the Defence ministry,” he said.

Prof Ajulu was in Kenya just a month ago, and while visiting prefers to stay in his rural home in Bondo “because it is cheaper”. His wife will accompany him home for a Christmas party later this year where they intend to spend over ten days.

Despite his long period away, Prof Ajulu has never forgotten his Kenyan roots. He has been a regular visitor since the fall of the one-party regime, and maintains close contact with his compatriots from the days of the struggle, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Lands minister James Orengo and Health minister Anyang’ Nyong’o.

His daughter from a previous relationship in England, Achieng Ajulu Bushell, retains close ties with Kenya. An international swimmer, she opted to represent Kenya rather than England or South Africa.

The new Defence minister and her husband are both children of and veterans of the struggle.Ms Sisulu is a daughter of freedom struggle icons Walter and Albertina Sisulu and an icon of the anti-apartheid campaign in her own right. She was arrested and faced a life sentence at 24!

Prof Ajulu took the mantle from his father Stephen Odero Ajulu, who was a political activist in the 1960s under the then opposition Kenya People’s Union. When his father died, Prof Ajulu stepped into the role as an adviser to then opposition leader Oginga Odinga, and then maintained a long collaboration with his son, Mr Raila Odinga.

Prof Ajulu’s father was imprisoned for political activities in Kenya while Ms Sisulu’s parents were imprisoned by the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Prof Ajulu was expelled from the University of Nairobi for political activism and ended up in South African exile via England and Lesotho.

Ms Sisulu also took up political activism and was also imprisoned by the apartheid regime before going into exile to continue her studies at the University of Lesotho. That was where the two met and eventually married in 1996.  In addition to children from previous relationships, the couple has a son, Olindi Obango, named after his paternal grandparents.

Che Samora Ajulu is the eldest son and is named after the revolutionary Cuban and Mozambican leaders, Che Guavera and Samora Machel. There is also a daughter Ayanda and a son, Vuyo.

Source: Daily Nation

James Gathii, Albany, New York

James Thuo Gathii

James Thuo Gathii is the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and the Governor George E. Pataki Chair of International Commercial Law at Albany Law School, where he has been on the faculty since 2001. His research and expertise are in the areas of public international law, international economic, international intellectual property and trade law as well as on issues of good governance and legal reform as they relate to the third world and sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Before joining Albany Law School, Professor Gathii taught at the Rutgers Business School. He was also a Crowe and Dunlevy Visiting International Law Professor at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law.

Professor Gathii has published over 40 articles and book chapters, including the Michigan Law Review. He is ranked among the Top 300 Law Authors based on total new downloads on the Social Science Research Network. Professor Gathii has presented his research at several law schools, including at Harvard, Cornell, UC Davis and the University of North Carolina and around the World including in the U.K., Italy, Canada, Kenya, Finland and Holland. He is a member of the International Law Association’s Study Committee on the Meaning of War.

Professor Gathii teaches Business Organizations, Public International Law, International Trade, International Business Transactions and International Organizations. His current research primarily focuses on the social and public policy issues relating to developing country participation in the Doha Round of negotiations with a particular interest in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Professor Gathii received his LL.B. from the University of Nairobi and his LL.M. and S.J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Source: Albany Law School

Njoki Nathani Wane, Toronto, Canada

Dr. Njoki Wane with her husband and daughter

Dr. Njoki Nathani Wane, a professor at University of Toronto is the winner of the prestigious Harry Jerome Award given to African Canadians for excelling in various fields. She was also Njoki nominated and awarded the 2008 Black Business and Professional Association award for Professional Excellence in April  2008 for advocating for change within African-Canadian community.

A Director for the  Centre for Integrative Anti-Racist Research Studies (CIARS) and an associate professor at the University of Toronto, she is a tireless advocate for African Canadians, and a champion for women’s rights, in particular.

Well published, she has also come up with Africa At a Glance, an online resource for people who want to learn more about Kenya.  To learn more about her, visit her professional page, and this article in The Standard newspaper.

Armajit Chandan, London, United Kingdom

Amarjit Chandan (photo by Gurvinder Singh S)

It is official, on March the 14th 2009, Kenya will hold its first ever film and television awards. The mammoth event will celebrate and reward the best productions and movers in the industries. Designed to merge the American Oscars and Emmy’s, the elaborate, glamorous and exclusive red-carpet event will set the standard for future events.

The awards will be preceded by month-long partying and voting in February. It will also receive an intense marketing and publicity campaign between the months of December and March.

Come March 14th, all roads will lead only to the Kenyatta International Conference Center, the main venue. Executive limos, red carpets and stunning models will usher guests to the Savannah Ball room for an unforgettable evening. A custom-built, multi-level stage will feature performances from the hottest musicians, dancers, actors and comedians in the country. The organizers, Balozi Productions LTD are preparing a feast for the eyes with choreographed dances, an indoor fireworks display, laser light show and confetti sprays.

Film and television producers have been invited to submit their entries to the Kenya Film Commission before 22nd of December this year. The event’s brand name, board of trustees, trophy and other details will be unveiled at a press conference early next month.

Look out for more details on the event from this blog.

Source: Armajit Chandan

Mark Ford, London, United Kingdom

Mark Ford

Mark Ford was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1962. He went to school in London, and attended Oxford university and, as a Kennedy Scholar, Harvard University. He wrote his doctorate at Oxford University on the poetry of John Ashbery, and has published widely on nineteenth- and twentieth-century American writing. From 1991-1993 he was Visiting Lecturer at Kyoto University in Japan.

He currently teaches in the English Department at University College London, where he is a Senior Lecturer. He has published two collections of poetry, Landlocked (Chatto & Windus, 1992; 1998) and Soft Sift (Faber & Faber, 2001/Harcourt Brace, 2003). He has also written a critical biography of the French poet, playwright and novelist, Raymond Roussel, Raymond Roussel and the Republic of Dreams (Faber & Faber, 2000/Cornell University Press, 2001). He is a regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books.

John Ashbery and Helen Vendler are among his most fervent admirers.

Source: Wikipedia

Tavia Nyong’o – New York, New York

Tavia Nyongo

Tavia Nyong’o is a Kenyan-American cultural critic, historian and performance studies scholar.

He is currently an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies at New York University where he teaches courses on black diaspora performance, cultural studies, social and critical theory.

Nyong’o received his B.A. from Wesleyan University. He then received a Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Birmingham. In 2003, he received his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale, where he studied under the mentorship of Paul Gilroy and Joseph Roach. Nyong’o was the 2004 runner-up for the Ralph Henry Gabriel Dissertation Award given by the American Studies Association annually for the best doctoral dissertation written in the field of American Studies. His book, The Amalgamation Waltz, will appear in 2009.

In addition, Nyong’o has published articles in The Nation, the Yale Journal of Criticism, Social Text, Theatre Journal, GLQ, and Women and Performance. He has written on racial kitsch, televised politics, “afro” punk aesthetics, and on African-American historical memory.

Source: Wikipedia

Dr. Fanson Kidwaro, Warrensburg, Missouri

Dr. Fanson Kidwaro

Dr. Kidwaro is the head of the Agronomy Department at University of Central Missouri.  He moved to the United States from Vihiga, Kenya in 1985, to attend college.  He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agronomy from Truman State University.  Kidwaro continued his education at Central Missouri by earning a Master of Science Degree in (subject).  He also holds a doctoral degree from the University of Missouri.

Areas of Interest/Research
Kidwaro is currently conducting research in cereal crops and forage crops at the university airport farm and is excited about the research opportunities for students at the new Prussing Research Farm.  Kidwaro recently had the distinguished honor of representing the Kansas City Organization of Kenyans at 2003 meeting between President Bush and President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya.

Source: University of Missouri

Wilfred Saroni closes down school

Sad to hear that a businessman had to close his school due to some financial problems. You will note that I had showcased Mr. Saroni earlier on this blog and was quite proud of the fact that one of ours was doing so well.

Mr. Saroni had to shut down his school after he failed to provide the appropriate financial paperwork to the state. The request had been pending for seven months before they finally closed the Nashua Nursing School down. Fortunately two other schools have stepped in to help the students, many of whom are single mothers, complete the last 4 months of their one year course.

Kenyan Jewels hopes things turn around for the positive for Mr. Saroni.  To learn more about the situation visit this site.

James Nabwangu, Rapid City, South Dakota

Dr. James Nabwangu, a neurosurgeon practicing in the Dakotas was the first student of African descent to graduate from the Johns Hopkins Medical School, and the first doctor of African descent to complete training as a neurosurgeon. Yes, Kenyans do things in style!

He graduated from Alliance High School where his academic performance set records across the entire British Commonwealth, and was part of the Kennedy Air Lift program. After completing his basic medical training, Dr. Nabwangu elected neurosurgery as his specialty, and studied under the pioneers of modern neurosurgery, such as Dr. Wilder Penfield at the Montreal Neurological Institute. There he met and married Dr. Marie Joubert, a French Canadian pediatric neurologist, after whom the “Joubert Syndrome” is named. Dr. Nabwangu still practices neurosurgery in Rapid City, South Dakota.

He has published a book entitled Of Race, Intelligence, Africa And Dr. Watson: A Personal Perspective, an autobiographical expose that was undertaken in the light of Dr. Watson’s recent comments.

Source: Wikipedia

Mwangi Karangu, Baltimore, Maryland, passes away

It is with sadness that we share with you the information about the passing of David Karangu’s father, Mwangi Karangu on March 10th, 2008 after a long illness.

Prior to his demise he was a distinguished professor of economics and statistics at Morgan State University, Baltimore Maryland and at Coppin State University where he was an adjunct professor. He made a positive impact in the lives of many young Kenyans in the area, and his presence will be sorely missed. Rest in peace.