Former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana has been installed as the third Chancellor of International Leadership University.
In a ceremony on Thursday, August 20, Kibwana took the Chancellor’s Oath of Office, pledging to serve the university and wider society faithfully while upholding the values and responsibilities entrusted to him.
"I, Kivutha Kibwana, accepting the office of Chancellor of International Leadership University, commit myself, by the grace of God, to uphold the Charter and Statutes of the University, to protect its Christian identity and mission, to promote academic excellence, integrity, and good governance, and to serve faithfully the University, the Church, society, and future generations," he said.
Following the oath, Kibwana was formally vested with the academic regalia associated with the office of Chancellor in a ceremonial process known as robing.
The ceremony was presided over by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, assisted by the Chairman of the University Council.
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After his installation and robing, Kibwana was prayed upon as part of the ceremony, marking the conclusion of the formal proceedings.
Kibwana studied at Nduundune Primary School and later at Machakos School.
He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi in 1976 and pursued postgraduate legal studies at the University of London, Harvard University and George Washington University.
Kibwana also studied theology at Africa International University.
His academic career began at the University of Nairobi, where he taught law from 1977 to 2002.
He rose through the ranks to become a senior lecturer, chairman of the Department of Private Law, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Associate Professor.
During the 1990s, Kibwana became a prominent figure in Kenya's pro-democracy movement and served as spokesperson for the National Convention Executive Council (NCEC).
Kibwana entered electoral politics in the 2002 general election, when he won the Makueni parliamentary seat on the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) wave that brought Mwai Kibaki to power.
He served as Member of Parliament for Makueni Constituency from 2003 to 2007.
During the Kibaki administration, he held several ministerial responsibilities, including Environment and Natural Resources and Lands and Settlement.
He also served as an assistant minister earlier in the administration. In 2006, while serving as Environment Minister, he was involved in Kenya's hosting of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP12, in Nairobi.
After the 2007 election, Kibwana moved from elected politics into the Office of the President as Presidential Advisor for Constitutional, Parliamentary and Youth Affairs, a position he held from 2008 until 2012.
Kibwana returned to electoral politics in 2013 when he contested the newly created position of Governor of Makueni County.
Running on the Muungano Development Movement Party, he became the county's first governor after the introduction of devolved government under the 2010 Constitution.
Kibwana was re-elected in 2017, serving a second five-year term until 2022.
He subsequently returned to academia, joining Daystar University Law School, effectively coming back to the profession that had occupied much of his career before politics.
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