Listen What seemed like a case of incurable childhood eczema and an encounter with a kind doctor stirred up young and impressionable girl’s desire to become a doctor. Many years and numerous hurdles later, Professor Ruth Wanjiru Nduati is credited for the groundbreaking research that allows HIV-positive mothers to safely breastfeed their children. When Professor […]
May 2022
Miriam Were – Retired champion of public health is far from tired
Listen What started as a childhood passion — ensuring basic hygiene was observed —gradually evolved into a life-long career. From her days as a high school teacher tovher stint at the United Nations, Professor Miriam Were has been at the forefront of thevwar against preventable diseases, despite its less than glamorous status in medical circles. […]
Kalimi Mworia – Educationist cum-diplomat whose forte is family planning
Listen The best way to describe the career and life of the passionate educationist, seasoned diplomat and talented leader that is Kalimi Mworia is in one all-encompassing word: multifaceted. Someone who likes her tea brewed exactly according to the instructions on the packet – steeped in hot water for four minutes and not drowned in […]
Amina Mohamed
Listen With close to three decades of experience as a diplomat under her belt, it is difficult to hear the name Amina Mohamed and not have “Foreign Affairs” spring automatically to mind. Having most recently served as Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary between April 2013 and January 2018, Ambassador Amina Mohamed and Kenya’s foreign relations docket […]
Judith Mbula Bahemuka
Listen Judith Mbula Bahemuka is a professor at the University of Nairobi as well as a sociologist with a specialisation in rural development. The focus of her work has been poverty reduction through the utilisation of farming systems to provide sustainable livelihoods for rural families. She has also gained recognition for her contribution to knowledge […]
Monica Juma – Africa’s peace ambassador
Listen Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monica Juma comes with a mile-long pedigree in the Peace and Security arena, having previously served as Principal Secretary, Foreign Affairs and in the same capacity in Defence – not to mention having served as Kenya’s ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti, and Permanent Representative to […]
Maria Nzomo – Top scholar holds gender rights banner aloft
Listen Best known for her tireless efforts in championing the rights of women, Professor Maria Nzomo was instrumental in influencing the gender clauses in the 2010 Constitution and is the first Kenyan woman to attain a PhD in Political Sciences. Professor Ambassador Maria Nzomo takes great pride in the role she played to get affirmative […]
Muthoni wa Kirima – Kenya’s first female field marshal
Listen Muthoni wa Kirima is the only female freedom fighter to attain the title field marshal. Watching colonial injustices unfold first-hand at a tender age, as a pyrethrum picker on a settler’s farm, birthed the stoicism that led this rare woman warrior to fight alongside the Mau Mau in the Aberdare Forest. And even after […]
Wambui Otieno – Rebel who redefined the gender relations debate
Listen Freedom fighter, author, women’s activist and politician are a few of the attributes that describe Wambui Otieno. The multi-faceted trailblazer’s life took a path that saw her tackle issues that were considered taboo, such as inter-tribal marriage and matrimonial property rights to name a few. It is those very public, controversial and even […]
Mekatilili wa Menza – Matriarch of Kenya’s liberation war
Listen Mekatilili wa Menza is considered the first female freedom fighter in Kenya and East Africa. She boldly fought against British colonisers whose presence and influence in Kenya’s coast eroded the Giriama culture. She fought to restore the traditional Giriama governance system, travelling the region, as she used her oratory skills, to convince locals […]