By Peter Theuri
Highly accomplished scholar and scientist Prof Vasey Mwaja has been appointed as the Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board of the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI).
Prof Mwaja, who is also is the Editor-in-Chief and Member of the Governing Council of the Kenya Academy of Sciences (KNAS), Director of the Kenya Sugar Research and Training Institute (KESRETI), and Vice Chair – Scientific Programme, African Scientific Research and Innovation Council (ASRIC), has been an evergreen leader in agricultural and environmental research, education, and policy development in the past three decades in Kenya and abroad.
He has served, in that time, as a Board Member of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), the Chairman of National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), in the Council of Scientific Advisers of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Tristie, Italy and as a Senior Program Officer, Crop Management at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in Seattle Washington, among others.
As Chairman of the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), subsequently reconstituted as the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), he contributed to reforms aimed at strengthening strategic coordination, research governance, regulatory systems, and accountability within Kenya’s national research and innovation ecosystem. His leadership helped advance the institutional foundations necessary for a more coordinated and impactful national STI system.
Last year, Prof Mwaja was instrumental in the development, and eventual launch in March 2026, of the Kenya Research Financing and Capacity Strengthening Masterplan (2026 – 2036), a blueprint for Kenya’s next leap in science, which is pegged on expanded funding avenues and focused capacity enhancement.
Earlier this year, in April, Prof Mwaja was honoured with the prestigious the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Alumni Career Achievement Award in recognition of his longstanding professional achievements and contributions to agriculture, science, and development. He has also been elected as a Fellow of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, and Fellow of the International Science Council.
Prof Mwaja says that his driving force for serving science, academia and leadership for so many years is the opportunity it gives for “provision of transformative science leadership of strengthening institutions and advancing innovations, as well as positioning science as a cornerstone of sustainable development and societal needs”.
Over time, doing research has also changed into something scientists can always look forward to.
“One thing that has changed significantly is the improvement of the scientific technology which has made undertaking research more exciting,” he says.
Reacting to the latest appointment at NACOSTI, Prof Mwaja said,
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the President of the Republic of Kenya, HE Dr. William Samoei Ruto and the Government of Kenya for this appointment as the non-executive chairperson of the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). I will endeavor to give my very best to provide leadership at the NACOSTI and give support in the promotion of Science, Technology and Innovation ecosystem in our beloved nation.
Harnessing Science, Technology and Innovation is a key catalyst in the achievement of rapid Kenya development beyond 2030. Also, I’m grateful to the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs for giving me this opportunity to serve our country.”
Prof Mwaja, who has built a distinguished career at the intersection of scientific research, public policy, institutional leadership, and international development, holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences and a Master of Science in Plant Sciences from California State University, Fresno, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Agriculture from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.
Here at ISAAA AfriCenter, we relay our hearty congratulations to Prof Mwaja, and wish him all the best as he takes onto this responsibility and serves the country, and people, he so dearly loves.