Our People
Faculty and Staff
Prof Nancy Booker
Prof. Nancy Booker is an Associate Professor and the Dean at the Graduate School of Media and Communications . She has had a distinguished career as an academic, teacher, researcher, administrator, leader and media practitioner with over 20 years experience. Prof. Booker specializes in broadcast journalism, multimedia storytelling, media management and health communication and research and has several academic publications in these areas. She has also been trained in leadership at Harvard.
Prior to joining GSMC Nancy was head of the Department of Journalism and Communication at Multimedia University of Kenya and was actively involved in teaching, mentorship, research, and curriculum development. She previously taught at Daystar University and at ABC University in Liberia where she set up the Media and Communication Department in post-war Liberia.
She had stints at the national broadcaster, KBC, and later Nation Media Group's flagship, NTV, where she honed her skills. Today she is a regular commentator on local TV stations.
Prof. Booker continues to contribute to the media industry in the region in significant ways. Presently she serves as one of the seven members of the Media Complaints Commission, an independent arm of the Media Council of Kenya, which adjudicates complaints against the media. She also been a juror for the Kenyan Annual Journalism Excellence Awards. At a regional level, she is a founding member and current board member of the East African Communication Association (EACA). This organization is involved in harnessing regional synergies and capacity building for media and communication scholars in the region. Prof. Booker has also been involved in training, research and consultancies for several organizations. Some of these include The Open Society, Sida, UNDP, MCK, KEG, Thomson Foundation and NMG.
As part of her service to the community, Nancy is a trustee of Amani Ya Juu – Kenya, a social economic enterprise committed to peace and reconciliation for women from several African nations and cultures.
Prof George Nyabuga
George Nyabuga, PhD, is the Associate Dean andAssociate Professor at GSMC. He worked at the University of Nairobi as an Associate Professor of media and journalism. He has almost 20 years’ experience teaching in higher education. He taught journalism, and media and cultural studies at the University of Worcester, and international media and communication, and comparative politics at Coventry University both in the United Kingdom. Prof. Nyabuga worked as a journalist before joining academia, his last position in the media being the Managing Editor in charge of Weekend Editions, and Managing Editor, Media Convergence, at the Standard Group. Prof. Nyabuga’s research interests include the sociology of journalism, new and digital media, communication, journalism and media theories, comparative media systems, and media, journalism, politics and democracy. He has a PhD in Media, Politics and History from Coventry University.
Prof Peter Kimani
Peter Kimani, PhD, is a Professor of Practice and an internationally acclaimed author, journalist and editor. As an interdisciplinary scholar, his research cuts across four main areas: journalism, creative writing, African literature, and postcolonial studies. He specialises in 20th Century African literature, East Africa's South Asian diaspora, and the politics of language and decolonisation. His work explores how colonial discourse is constructed and reconstructed in contemporary journalistic practice and its implications on Africa's development. This intersectionality of journalism and creative writing feels fortuitous; as digital media continue to disrupt the way information is gathered and disseminated, traditional media are increasingly turning to creative writing strategies to inaugurate new forms of storytelling.
Prof Kimani has published four books—including Dance of the Jakaranda, a New York Times Notable Book of 2017. He was one of only three international poets commissioned by NPR to present a poem to mark Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. His journalism has been published in leading newspapers of the world, from the New York Times to the NewAfrican, the oldest pan-African newsmagazine. He also served as a senior writer/editor and columnist for the Daily Nation and The Standard, two of the region's largest media organisations.
He reported all major news developments in the nation and region. He was deployed to Darfur to report the 2004 atrocities, now the subject of an International Criminal Court investigation; covered conflicts in Northern Uganda and Somalia; reconstruction efforts in South Sudan; HIV/Aids in Botswana, among others. His journalistic oeuvre at both The Standard and the Daily Nation long surpassed the 1,000-mark comprising deep investigations, penetrating analyses, features, opinions and editorials.
Prof Kimani has taught at the prestigious Amherst College and the University of Houston, where he completed a doctorate supervised by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, one of the world's best-known living writers.
Click here to view his publications.
Henry Kibira
Henry is a Teaching Assistant at the Graduate School of Media and Communications. Prior to joining GSMC, Henry worked at Radio Africa Group (The Star newspaper) as a news reporter, where he was seconded to the Health Desk.
He has also worked as the coordinator for the Kenya Media Network on Population and Development (KEMEP), a Network of like-minded journalists, whose primary engagement is to research and highlight human interest stories such as female genital mutilation, early marriages and population and development stories from across the country.
Henry is currently pursuing a PhD in Communication and Information Studies from the University of Nairobi, with a special interest in Terrorism and Media. He obtained both his MA in Communication and Information Studies and Bachelor’s (Hons) in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of Nairobi.
Expertise: journalism, terrorism and media, human interest stories, language and cross-cultural.
Marion Njoki
Marion is the Technical Operations Manager of the Graduate School of Media and Communications. With a wide experience in the telecommunications and broadcast engineering field in Kenya, Marion previously was the Head of Technical Services at Mediamax Network before joining GSMC. During her career she has been involved in the setting up of TV and Radio studios, Outside Broadcasting Vans and remote Transmissions for stations such as K24TV, Ebru TV, Kameme FM, Milele FM, Meru FM and many more.
Marion holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Science and Telecommunications Engineering. She is also is an Executive Board Member of Habel Nyamu High School in Kirinyaga County where she is actively involved in mentoring female students on how to excel in science subjects.
Expertise: telecommunications and broadcasting, consult broadcast engineer, mentorship
Alykhan Peermohamed
Alykhan is the Training Manager at the Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC), Aga Khan University. He has led the development and implementation of various projects pertaining to executive education, grants, partnerships and fellowships. Notably, he founded the Mobile Video Journalism Fellowship (a collaboration with Facebook) and successfully managed the Transforming Leadership for 21st Century Africa program in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School.
Outside of work, Alykhan is the vice-chair of the Aga Khan Youth and Sports Board for Kenya and directs youth development strategy and operations for the Ismaili community across Eastern and Southern Africa. He is passionate about leadership, mentorship, communication, lifelong learning and technology. On the weekends you can find him searching for the best coffee in Kenya. Alykhan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business and Marketing from Anglia Ruskin University, UK.
Sanday Ogesa
Sanday is the Senior Assistant at the Graduate School of Media and Communications. She supports senior executives, administrative teams, short courses, projects and events.
With over 15 years of proven expertise in administrative roles both in the business field, health sector and university setting, Sanday has previous experience working at Aga Khan University Hospital and Aga Khan University in the office of the Provost.
Sanday is a graduate in Business Administration at Graffins College and currently at United States International University - Africa. She holds diplomas in secretarial studies, typing and office management.
Daniel Mwangi
Daniel is the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) support for the Graduate School of Media and Communications. He provides high-quality, timely and professional services and technical support in a wide range of areas regarding all areas of tech.
Previously, Daniel worked as an information and communication technology support at the Aga Khan University Hospital.
Daniel is a graduate at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in information technology.
Expertise: Information and Communication Technology, technical support, virtual learning environment.
Media Innovation Center (MIC)
Hesbon Owilla
Hesbon is a Research Associate at the Media Innovation Centre and an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of Media and Communications. His areas of expertise include media viability, the role model of the media in a multi-ethnic democracy, political communication and the political economy of the media.
A PhD candidate in political communication, Hesbon has ten years of university teaching and research experience. He has co-authored two publications in the field of journalism and media studies.
Expertise: media viability, the role model of the media in a multi-ethnic democracy, political communication, political economy of the media
Benson Githaiga
Benson is the Media Innovation Centre’s Community Manager and is responsible for community needs, assists the vibrant, diverse and dynamic innovators, fosters ideas and communities to converge and supports interpersonal and partnership relationships. As a dynamic person, his multi-skilled nature makes him a unique and valuable asset to the centre and AKU.
Prior to working at MIC, Benson worked as a Community Manager at the globally recognized innovation hub and hackerspace, iHub. He has also worked in PR, human resources, project management and account management roles.
Benson holds a BA in International Business from the United States International University.
Expertise: community needs, relationship and partnership building, innovator management
Clare Mogere
Clare is the Interim Director at the Media Innovation Centre. She provides financial and administrative advice and support services to designated programme staff. She also serves as the liaison between GSMC, Deutsche Welle Akademie (DWA) and KfW interpreting both KfW and AKU requirements and policies. Clare provides support to obtain newly available information on funding volume, timing of reports and compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements under the grant.
Prior to joining MIC, Clare worked for PwC Kenya where she was involved in projects and grant management for various donor-funded projects in the Public and not for profit sectors. Her work also involved providing mentorship and support to nascent organizations to improve efficiency and effectiveness of their operating systems.
Clare holds a Master of Science in Economics and Finance from the University of Leeds and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Egerton University.
Expertise: financial and administrative advisor, external liaison
