Kibunjia Nyagah Mzalendo is a Kenyan archeologist. He formerly served as the Director General of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), a multi-disciplinary state corporation.[1] In April 2024 he was arrested for allegedly stealing SH490 million (roughly $4 million) from the museum.[2][3][4] He was appointed as the first chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), a government agency intended to address and reduce inter-ethnic conflicts. In this role, he chaired the Nakuru Peace Accord between the Agikuyu and the Kalenjin communities.[5] He was the first Kenyan to hold a doctorate in Early Stone Age Archaeology.[6]
Mzalendo Kibunjia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1962 (age 61–62) |
| Alma mater | University of Nairobi Rutgers University |
| Occupation(s) | Research Scientist, Ethnoarchaeology and Anthropology |
| Years active | 1988 — present |
| Title | Director General, National Museums of Kenya Chairperson, National Cohesion and Integration Commission |
Background and Education
editMzalendo Kibunjia was born on January 13, 1962, in Marimanti village, Tharaka-Nithi County. He attended the University of Nairobi and graduated with a B.A. in Archaeology and History. He studied at Rutgers University in the United States, obtaining an M.A. in Anthropology in 1989. His Doctor of Philosophy degree in the same field was obtained in 2002, also from Rutgers.[7] He also pursued a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) at the University of Nairobi.
Career
editBefore completing his undergraduate course he was given a scholarship to pursue a PhD at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 1984, he joined expeditions with Charles Cable who introduced him to the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) where he met and began to work with Richard Leakey. NMK organized a scholarship for Mzalendo at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The West Turkana Archaeological Project, which he co-directed with the then WTAP director Helene Roche, is still making important contributions to the knowledge and understanding of stone-tool technology in early human evolution.[8]
He was the founding chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC),[9]: 6–26 an institution that was created after the 2007–2008 post-election violence by the Kofi Annan Negotiation Team to address and reduce inter-ethnic conflicts and ensure that Kenya does not succumb to a similar situation in the future. He led the commission in the development of the Nakuru Peace Accord between the Agikuyu and Kalenjin communities.[10]
He has held different positions at the National Museum of Kenya such as Director General, Chief Research Scientist, the Head of Sites and Monuments, Chairman Museum Enterprise and Development Unit Committee, Chairman Ol Ari Nyiro, UNESCO World Heritage Site List Nomination Committee, and Chairman National Environment Management Authority, and Technical Advisory Committee on the proposed Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant. He is a Technical Advisor to the Kenyan delegation to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and State Party meetings and has also offered expertise in the development of Africa Insider Mediators Platform, IGAD Mediation Unit, Djibouti and national cohesion and integration training manual.[citation needed]
Bibliography
editMzalendo's published works is among many articles on Old Stone Age tool technology and other scientific projects such as:
- Koobi Fora Field & Training Program in Paleoanthropology.
- West Turkana Archaeological Research Project.
- Swahili Studies and Coastal Peoples of Kenya field school.
- Early hominin foot morphology based on 1.5 million-year-old Footprints from Ileret Kenya.[11]
- First occurrence of early Homo in the Nachukui Formation (West Turkana, Kenya)[12]
References
edit- ^ "Board Members – National Museums of Kenya". Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Phillips, Michael M. "A Museum Overflowing With Prehistoric Treasures Races to Save Itself". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Openda, Joseph (16 April 2024). "Ex-National Museums boss Mzalendo Kibunjia arrested over Sh490m payment to ghost workers". Nation. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ Apollo, Silas (15 April 2024). "Kibunjia in court to answer Sh490m corruption charges". The Nairobi Law Monthly. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Nakuru Peace Accord, Dr. Mzalendo Kibunjia's Speech - National Cohesi…". archive.is. 2014-12-20. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Thang'wa, Josephine. Kenya Past and Present, 1998. pp. 45–46.
- ^ "Graduate Student Alumni". evomed.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "University of Nairobi Personal Websites". University of Nairobi Personal Websites. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- ^ Wairimu Nderitu, Alice (2014). From the Nakuru County Peace Accord to Lasting Peace (PDF). Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. pp. 6–26.
- ^ "Media Breakfast Meeting on Nakuru Peace Accord - Speech by NCIC Chairman, Dr. Mzalendo Kibunjia". National Cohesion and Integration Commission. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ Bennett, Matthew R.; Harris, John W. K.; Richmond, Brian G.; Braun, David R.; Mbua, Emma; Kiura, Purity; Olago, Daniel; Kibunjia, Mzalendo; Omuombo, Christine; Behrensmeyer, Anna K.; Huddart, David (2009). "Early Hominin Foot Morphology Based on 1.5-Million-Year-Old Footprints from Ileret, Kenya". Science. 323 (5918): 1197–1201. Bibcode:2009Sci...323.1197B. doi:10.1126/science.1168132. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 25471588. PMID 19251625. S2CID 10861457.
- ^ Prat, Sandrine; Brugal, Jean-Philip; Tiercelin, Jean-Jacques; Barrat, Jean-Alix; Bohn, Marcel; Delagnes, Anne; Harmand, Sonia; Kimeu, Kamoya; Kibunjia, Mzalendo; Texier, Pierre-Jean; Roche, Hélène (2005-08-01). "First occurrence of early Homo in the Nachukui Formation (West Turkana, Kenya) at 2.3-2.4 Myr". Journal of Human Evolution. 49 (2): 230–240. Bibcode:2005JHumE..49..230P. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.03.009. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 15970311.