Kenya

Martha Saavedra

Former Associate Director; Alum
Center for African Studies

Martha Saavedra has been with the Center for African Studies since 1993. She received a PhD and MA in a Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in International Studies from Rhodes College. She has taught at St. Mary’s College of California, Ohio University, the...

Duncan Omanga

Associate Director
Center for African Studies

Dr. Duncan Omanga is an educationist, program manager, and academic with a deep commitment to the study of Africa. He currently serves as Associate Director at the Center for African Studies (CAS) and Manager of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to joining CAS, Dr. Omanga was a Program Officer in the Africa Section of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, D.C. He previously served as...

Dan Miswa Basil

PhD Student
Environmental Science, Policy and Management

Purba Chatterjee

DrPh Candidate
School of Public Health

Jane Mango Angar

PhD Candidate
Political Science

Passing of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, African literary giant and UC Irvine Professor

June 2, 2025

We are sad to learn that the great Kenya author, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, passed away on 28 May 2025 at age 87. He was also Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and the director of the International Center for Writing and Translation. We appreciate his dedication to championing local languages. At one point, he worked on such issues with Professor Emerita Patricia Hilden in...

LL.M. Program Profiles First Three Mastercard Foundation Scholars From Africa

November 20, 2024

The LL.M. Program shares profiles of the first three LL.M. Mastercard Foundation Scholars at UC Berkeley: Hudheifa Aden from Kenya with ties to Somalia, Agbor Tabe from Cameroon, and Getachew Gayzibayso from Ethiopia.