Paul Bundi Karau is a Kenyan neurologist, consultant physician, university lecturer and author who rose to national prominence after emerging as the top candidate in the 2002 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
Karau has built a career spanning specialist medical practice, neuroscience research, university teaching, writing and youth mentorship.
He holds four university qualifications from the University of Nairobi and completed specialist training in neurology in India.
Bundi Karau Education
Bundi Karau attended Kanyakine Boys’ High School in Meru before joining the University of Nairobi.
Karau says stories and newspaper articles about medical practitioners shaped his ambition to become a doctor.
After ranking first nationally in the 2002 KCSE, he studied medicine and human anatomy.
At the University of Nairobi, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Anatomy, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), a Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine and a PhD in Human Anatomy, specialising in neurosciences.
He completed his PhD in 2023, adding research training to his clinical and academic qualifications.
Bundi Karau later undertook a subspecialist fellowship in neurology at St John’s Medical College in Bangalore, India.
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Career as a Physician, Neurologist and Lecturer
Bundi Karau has established a career in both clinical medicine and medical education. He serves as a senior lecturer in internal medicine at Kenya Methodist University (KeMU), an honorary consultant physician at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, and chief physician and neurologist at Oregon Health Services.
His responsibilities include treating patients with complex medical conditions, teaching medical students and conducting research in clinical neurosciences.
At KeMU, Karau founded the Department of Human Anatomy at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, contributing to the university’s medical training programmes.
His work brings together the study of human anatomy, internal medicine, and neurological conditions, focusing on applying medical knowledge to patient care and training future health professionals.
Why Neurology Became Part of His Work
Karau has spoken about the shortage of neurologists in parts of Kenya, particularly in the Mount Kenya and Eastern regions, where patients may have difficulty accessing specialist care.
“On these sides of Kenya, neurology is almost a rumour. I was the 20th neurologist in the entire Kenya, and certainly the only neurologist in the larger Mt Kenya and Eastern Region,” he said after completing his fellowship in India.
In 2025, he co-authored a study titled Spectrum and Patterns of EEG Abnormalities in a Peripheral Outpatient Centre in Kenya, published in the Journal of the Kenya Association of Physicians.
The study examined 445 electroencephalograms (EEGs) conducted between June 2021 and December 2023.
An EEG records the brain’s electrical activity and helps doctors investigate suspected seizures and other neurological conditions.
The researchers found epileptiform abnormalities in 68.3 per cent of the recordings reviewed, examining the role of EEG testing in an outpatient setting in Kenya.
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Karau’s doctoral research also examined structural changes in neurons and astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex of male rats following chronic khat use.
Bundi Karau was included in the 2023 Top 40 Under 40 cohort, recognising his professional work as a physician and lecturer.
Bundi has mentored students and encouraged young people to pursue education. He has spoken in more than 600 schools in Kenya and abroad, sharing lessons on academic achievement and personal development.
In 2018, he became the founding chairman of Meru Youth Service. He led a team that drafted a Bill seeking to convert the programme into a county government parastatal tasked with equipping young people with employable skills.
The Author Behind Escort-In-Chief
Bundi Karau has also developed an interest in writing, publishing books that draw on his educational journey and experiences in medicine.
His book The Journey to Academic Success and Beyond focuses on academic achievement and personal development, offering lessons drawn from his path from secondary school to university and professional life.
In February 2026, he launched Escort-In-Chief: Through the Eyes of a Physician, a book the explores doctors’ and patients’ experiences.
The book examines the uncertainty surrounding illness, the limits of medical knowledge and the role of empathy in patient care. It presents medicine as a profession that requires more than diagnosing diseases and prescribing treatment; communication and guidance also play important roles.
His interest in writing extends to travel journals and reflections, and he has recounted driving from South Africa to Kenya through Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania.
He also holds an Advanced Creative Writing certificate from the Writers Bureau at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
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