KENYA – President William Ruto has appointed Dr Abdullahi Ali as the chairman of board for Kenya Medical Research Institute for a period of three years.
Ali takes over from Dr Daniel Mbinda whose appointment was revoked by President William Ruto in a Gazette Notice dated February 17 and immediately replaced him with Ali. Mbinda together with other board members were inaugurated on October 25, 2021.
Acting Director General Prof. Sam Kariuki also praised the immediate Chairman, Dr. Mbinda for his dedication, leadership and commitment towards the Institute for the period he served.
He also welcomed Dr. Ali to the Institute and wished him well as he takes over the leadership mantle of the Institute.
The outgoing Chairman Dr. Mbinda, thanked all the staff members for being diligent in dispensing their duties during his leadership.
He further stated that serving at the institute was seamless because of the support he received from the KEMRI fraternity.
Dr. Mbinda welcomed Dr. Abdullahi saying that the Institute will benefit tremendously from his leadership owing to the vast experience he has.
The new Board Chairman is a medical doctor by profession and holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the University of Nairobi and an Executive MBA from Moi University.
Dr. Ali has seven years’ experience in the medical field and has served as the Member of Parliament for Wajir North constituency for two terms, and five years as a Senator Wajir County.
He brings to KEMRI rich leadership experience having previously served in the Board of Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), National Aids Control Council(NACC), and the Kenya Tourism Board(KTB).
Appointment of acting Director General
The changes at the Board of Directors, came barely a day after Dr. Mbinda announced that his Board had appointed the current Director of Research Capacity Building, Prof. Elijah Songok to the position of Acting Director General’s replacing Prof. Kariuki from 4th, March 2023.
Prof. Kariuki will be proceeding on a one-year sabbatical leave after serving the Institute’s highest management position for the last two years.
Prof. Songok is a seasoned research scientist with over 37 years of research experience. His first assignment was with the Ministry of Health as a parasitologist in 1986 before moving to the Institute’s Centre for Virus Research (CVR) as an Assistant Research Officer in 1990.
He then rose through the ranks to Chief Research Officer-the highest level a research scientist could attain.
Prof. Songok boasts of decorated academic credentials. He has served as a Professor at Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba Canada, and Professor at Department of Viral Infections, Kanazawa University Japan.
KEMRI is a State Corporation established in Kenya in 1979 through the Science and Technology (Repealed) Act, Cap 250 of the Laws of Kenya operated under the Science Technology and Innovation Act, 2013 as the national body responsible for carrying out research in human health in Kenya.
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