On November 5, Mount Kenya University sent out a powerful message to its alumni as well as the general public. It unveiled the first winner of its Sh6.5-million alumni award – Mr Lawrence Lorunyei Ekiru, a Member of County Assembly (MCA) representing Nachola Ward in Samburu County.
Just before that announcement, MKU Chairman Prof Simon Gicharu revealed that his Board had committed Sh100 million for the annual appreciation of outstanding alumni over the next 10 years.
“This is a grant to keep MKU’s alumni do what they are doing in a better way. The cash prize given to beneficiaries of the alumni annual awards should go towards improving on what they are doing,” Prof Gicharu declared.
He challenged all MKU alumni “to give their unreserved services to the communities where they work and have their impact positively noticed. They should also aspire to go that extra mile for their services to be better felt.”
This means going forward, members of the public can take note of MKU alumni who go the extra mile in serving them. They can then nominate those whose work impresses them the most. The award is aptly named the Alumni Extra-Mile Recognition.
For MKU alumni, this is a challenge to fully use the knowledge and skills they acquired to help accelerate national development. Incidentally, Mr Ekiru was declared the winner of the inaugural award during MKU’s 28th graduation ceremony, whose theme befittingly focused on nation building.
The theme of the event was: “From Knowledge to Nation Building: Advancing Responsible Leadership and Governance through Higher Education Institutions.”
Mr Ekiru won the award for his peacebuilding efforts in Northern Kenya, where he is facilitating neighbouring communities to engender lasting peace and live in harmony.
Accepting the award, he stated: “The monetary award will go directly into expanding our outreach – supporting more young people, strengthening peace-building efforts, and reinforcing the empowerment initiatives already taking root on the ground.”
He explained that during his efforts, he has “witnessed extraordinary moments: Communities choosing dialogue over conflict, young people discovering their potential through education, and women and youth rebuilding their lives using their own skills, creativity, and resilience.”
MKU instituted the annual award in September when it established a policy for rewarding outstanding alumni whose work is uniquely impactful on society.
The recognition, whose objective is to inspire transformational initiatives in communities its alumni interact with, is a powerful aspect of MKU’s community outreach mandate. Besides teaching and research, the university is very deliberate in implementing initiatives targeted at improving lives at the grassroots.
Alumni cannot nominate themselves for the award. And so, it is important that their work is noticed by others. This is one of the key rules of the Alumni Extra-Mile Recognition Policy 2025. The policy establishes a clear framework for “recognising and celebrating alumni who have made significant contributions to society, their profession, or their community.”
The Alumni Extra-Mile Recognition has five categories: Community Service, Professional Excellence, Public Service and Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Global Impact. Alumni can be nominated for any of these categories. However, only the alumnus who demonstrates the biggest impact can win the award.
Mr Ekiru’s award fell within the Community Service category.
