Wangarĩ Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004 she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He became the youngest gold medallist in the marathon since 1932.
The University of Nairobi is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent university until 1970. During that year, the University of East Africa was split into three independent universities: the Makerere University in Uganda, the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Martha Wangari Karua is a Kenyan politician. She is a former long-standing member of parliament for Gichugu Constituency and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She was Minister for Justice until resigning from that position in April 2009. She has consistently fought for the protection of women's rights and improvements to the democratic process.
Helen Wanjiru Gichohi is a Kenyan ecologist who was President of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) from 2007 to 2013.
James Mwangi CBS is a Kenyan accountant, career banker, businessman, and entrepreneur. He is the current Group Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of Equity Group Holdings Plc, the banking conglomerate with one of the largest customer bases on the African continent, over 14 million as of December 2019.
Julie Gathoni Sumira Gichuru is a Kenyan businesswoman, entrepreneur and media personality with investments in media, fashion retail and entertainment sectors. She is an independent director at Acumen Communication Limited and is a fellow and trustee of the Africa Leadership Initiative EA.
The history of the evolution of the traits of women in Kenya can be divided into Women within Swahili culture, Women in British Kenya, and Kenyan Women post-Independence. The condition and status of the female population in Kenya has faced many changes over the past century.
Wanjiru Kihoro was an economist, writer and feminist activist from Kenya. She was one of the founders of the pan-African women's organisation Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) and the [for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya] (CRPPK), to protest the incarceration of Kenyans during Daniel arap Moi's regime.
Segenet Kelemu is an Ethiopian scientist, noted for her research as a molecular plant pathologist, and outstanding scientific leadership. For close to three decades, Segenet and her team's research has contributed to addressing agricultural constraints in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America.
Samuel Kamau Macharia, also known as S. K. Macharia, is the Kenyan founder and chair of Royal Media Services, one of Kenya's largest private radio and television networks. Royal Media Services' flagship outlets are Citizen TV and Radio Citizen. In 2012, Macharia was on Forbes Top 10 List of African Millionaires to Watch. He was on Africa Report's 2013 list of the 50 most influential Africans. He was also honoured with the 2015 Eastern Africa Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stellah Wairimu Bosire, is a Kenyan physician, corporate executive, human rights activist and author, a former co-executive director of Uhai Eashri and previously served as the chief executive officer of Kenya Medical Association and as the vice-chair of the HIV and AIDS Tribunal of Kenya.
Purity Kagwiria is a Kenyan feminist activist and executive director of Akili Dada.
Wanjira Mathai is a Kenyan environmentalist and activist. She is Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute, based in Nairobi, Kenya. In this role, she takes on global issues including deforestation and energy access. She was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine in 2018 for her role serving as the senior advisor at the World Resources Institute, as well as for her campaign to plant more than 30 million trees through her work at the Green Belt Movement.
Elizabeth Wanjiru Wathuti is a Kenyan environment and climate activist and founder of the Green Generation Initiative, which nurtures young people to love nature and be environmentally conscious at a young age and has now planted 30,000 tree seedlings in Kenya.
Ruth Khasaya Oniang'o is a Kenyan Professor of Nutrition and a former member of Parliament. She created Rural Outreach Africa (ROA) to empower smallholder farmers to reduce malnutrition, she oversaw her country's nutrition policy.
Wanjiru Mbugua-Karani is a former Kenyan Tennis player and captain now serving as the Secretary-General of Tennis Kenya, Team Kenya CEO to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Vice President of Confederation of African Tennis, and President of Eastern Africa.
Professor Norah Khadzini Olembo was a Kenyan biochemist and policy developer, who helped establish standards for use of biotechnology in Kenya. She was the first African to become a professor and chair of the biochemistry department at the University of Nairobi. Raised in Western Kenya during British rule, Olembo studied biology at Butere Girls High School before completing her A-level studies at The Mount School in York, England. She earned a bachelor's, master's, and PhD in botany, chemistry, and zoology at the University of Nairobi before taking post-graduate courses in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of London. While teaching at the University of Nairobi, she founded the Biotechnology Trust Africa in 1992. The organisation funded research into development of disease-free crops and vaccines for animal diseases.
Grace Wamue Ngare is an associate professor of gender and development studies and director of the Centre for Gender Equity and Empowerment at Kenyatta University, Kenya. Ngare developed a technological mobile App to enhance the reporting of Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) among students and staff of Kenyatta University, Kenya. She is also a consultant and trainer in gender discourses and development, an area she has published in.
