H.E President William Samoei Ruto has re-appointed Prof.  Joseph Mathu Ndung’u to serve as the Chancellor of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) vide a Kenya Gazette Notice No. 7618, dated June 20, 2024.

According to the Kenya Gazette Notice, Prof. Joseph Mathu Ndung’u will serve for a period of five (5) years with effect from the 21^st June 2024.

Prof Ndung’u is a Regional Director for the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and the Executive Director of FIND Dx Kenya, a position he has occupied since 2022. Before then, he was the head of the Neglected Tropical Diseases at FIND.

While welcoming the re-appointment, JKUAT Vice-Chancellor, Prof Victoria Wambui Ngumi, congratulated Prof. Mathu Ndung’u on his reappointment and said “the University Management and indeed the university community will support him in his endeavour of guiding the university to unlock its potential in training, research, innovation and entrepreneurship as well as community service.

In his acceptance message, Prof. Ndung’u said, “I am delighted for being reappointed the Chancellor of our great university. This is a positive recognition of the governance and performance of JKUAT. I thank His Excellency the President, Dr. William Samoei Arap Ruto, for giving me another chance to continue serving our country in this capacity.”

Prof. Ndung’u holds a Bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine and surgery from the University of Nairobi, and a PhD in the immunopathology of human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) from the University of Glasgow’s Veterinary School in Scotland.

With over 100 publications to his credit, Ndung’u started his professional career in 1985 as an assistant research officer at the Kenya Trypanosomiasis Research Institute (KETRI). In 1992, he became the deputy director in charge of research and was later promoted to director of KETRI in 1995.

In 2019, Prof Ndung’u won the African Union’s prestigious Excellence Award for his achievement and contribution to research and control of tsetse and trypanosomiasis, for spearheading the development of new diagnostics tools for neglected tropical diseases.

Prof. Ndung’u was first appointed JKUAT Chancellor for a period of five years effective January 11, 2019.