Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has accompanied President William Ruto to the installation ceremony of Benard William Chitunga as the new Chancellor of the Co-operative University of Kenya.
The high-profile event, held at the university’s Karen campus on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, marked the formal installation of Chitunga as the institution’s new chancellor.
Chitunga becomes the second chancellor of the Co-operative University of Kenya, succeeding the late Joseph Nyagah, who served as the institution’s inaugural chancellor.
He will serve a five-year term as the university’s chancellor; his appointment was formalised through Gazette Notice No. 387, in accordance with the Universities Act No. 42 of 2012, by Ruto.
Who is Chitunga
Chitunga holds the distinction of being the youngest Kenyan ever appointed as a chancellor in the history of the country.
Prior to his appointment, Chitunga worked at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), based at the headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as a senior officer for partnerships, donors, and special projects.
He also worked as part of the secretariat to the USD 5 billion Affirmative Finance Special and Trust Funds, where he had the privilege of serving as the task manager during their establishment.
Chitunga is a European University Institute (Italy), School of Transnational Governance, African Leadership Fellow. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in management from KwaZulu-Natal University, South Africa.
Additionally, Chitunga holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UGSM Monarch Business School, Switzerland; a Master’s of Global Business and Sustainability-Social Entrepreneurship from Università Cattolica Del Sacro, Italy; and a postgraduate degree in Development Strategy and Governance from Bradford University, United Kingdom.
Currently, Chitunga is a Partnership Specialist and Secretariat—Special Funds Management at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, China. AIIB is a multilateral development bank and an international financial institution, headquartered in Beijing, China, that enables its 109 member countries and clients to build Infrastructure for Tomorrow (i4t) green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation, and connectivity at its core.