The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Africa International University (AIU), Rev. Dr. Nelson Makanda, was elected as the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel on Friday, January 31.
Makanda was appointed AIU third VC in November 2023. AIU is a private chartered Christian University located in Karen-Nairobi.
The institution is committed to the vision of developing Christ- Centered leaders in Africa educated to transform God’s people and the world.
Dr. Makanda is a Christian leader with over 25 years of leadership experience in church, para-church organisations and community.
He has vast experience in peace and conflict resolution, theology, healthcare enterprise, resource mobilization, and leadership.
The IEBC selection panel chair has served as a pastor, middle-level manager, deputy CEO, and is currently serving as the General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), the premier ecumenical movement for evangelicals in Kenya.
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Professional Career of Nelson Makanda
He is also the former Deputy General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK).
Makanda is an ordained pastor and previously worked as an associate pastor at Nairobi Baptist Church.
Makanda has vast experience in transformational leadership, resource mobilization, and turnaround strategies.
He has previously served on various committees and task forces in Kenya, including the Academic Committee of the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
Makanda was also part of Prof. Fatuma Chege-led Competency-Based Curriculum Taskforce, which focused on enhancing access, relevance, transition, equity, and quality for the effective implementation of curriculum reforms in Kenya, among others.
Additionally, he served as a member of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees of the Africa International University (AIU) and is currently the Chair of the AIU Alumni.
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Makanda is a founding trustee of Africa Rural Trainers (ART-Trust), a Christian trust dedicated to equipping rural pastors with leadership, pastoral, biblical skills, and resource development for effective ministry.
Education and Family
Makanda holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Egerton University and a master’s degree in biblical studies from the then Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST).
He also has a PhD (Biblical Studies) from Africa International University.
The man who is now trusted with role of giving Kenya a new IEBC Commission is a contributing writer for Seek Peace: Enhancing Peacebuilding in Church and Community, developed for the Hope for Kenya Forum through ALARM and World Relief in 2009.
He also contributed to Recovering the Beauty and Blessing of Ethnic Diversity, a publication by AIU & ALARM in 2010.
He is married to Caroline Makanda and has four children.
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