Education CS Revokes Appointment Of Prof. Charles Chunge To Rongo University Council

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos has revoked Prof. Charles Chunge’s appointment as a member of the Rongo University Council.

The revocation, announced through a gazette notice on December 20, 2024, takes effect immediately.

Who is Prof. Charles Chunge?

Prof. Charles Chunge is a distinguished medical professional, researcher, and academic with a career spanning nearly five decades.

After earning his MBChB degree from the University of Nairobi in 1977, Chunge began his medical career in Kisumu before being transferred to Mandera, where he served as the only doctor in a vast region. During this time, he gained significant clinical and management experience and conducted research on scorpion sting treatments.

His research endeavors led him to the Clinical Research Centre in Nairobi and a scholarship from the World Health Organization (WHO) to pursue a Master’s in Medical Parasitology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1980. During his studies in London, he met his future wife, Ruth.

Upon returning to Kenya in 1981, Chunge played a pivotal role in transforming the Clinical Research Centre into the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). From 1982 to 1986, he conducted extensive research on tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis, malaria, and schistosomiasis.

In 1986, he joined the University of Nairobi as a Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, earning a PhD in 1989 for his groundbreaking work on leishmaniasis treatment. Later, he pursued a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Economics at McMaster University in Canada.

Chunge’s contributions extended beyond academia. In 1994, he co-founded the Centre for Tropical and Travel Medicine (CTTM), a specialized clinic for tropical diseases and travel medicine. His typhoid vaccination program earned recognition from the United Nations, and in 2009, he became a Fellow of the Faculty of Travel Medicine at the University of Glasgow.

In 2015, Chunge was appointed Executive Dean of the School of Medicine at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in Kakamega, where he successfully established the medical school and admitted its first cohort of students. He also founded WECOHAS, a community organization aimed at improving healthcare and fostering local enterprise.