The Chancellor

Hon. Dr Jared Benson Kangwana is the Chancellor of The Technical University of Kenya. He was formally inaugurated during the University’s 13th Graduation Ceremony on 26th November 2024 and conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree of TU-K.

Dr. Kangwana was appointed Chancellor, in April 2024 by President, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, to serve for a period of five years.

He holds LLB degree from the University of Nairobi, a Post-Graduate Diploma in law from Kenya School of Law and LLM degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Kangwana is also a Certified Public Secretary (CPS-K).

Dr. Kangwana is an Advocate of High Court of Kenya since 1976. In 1978, Dr. Kangwana was appointed as Lecturer at the Kenya School of Law before moving to the University of Nairobi in the same capacity where he taught course units such as Company Law, Commercial Law, Insurance Law and Contract Law. 

Corporate leadership and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Kangwana is a leader in the corporate world and an entrepreneur per excellence. In 1983 he was appointed Chairman of Kenya Times Media Trust that acquired Nairobi Times. The newspaper was renamed Kenya Times and became an authoritative daily. He went on to serve as Director and/or Chairman of Anglo African Property Holdings Limited, Chester House Limited, The Monarch Insurance Company Limited, Tamasha Corporation Limited, American Life insurance Company (ALICO), Equatorial Investment Bank Limited, among others. When the Capital Markets Authority was established in 1989, Dr. Kangwana was among the founding Board Members that gave the authority a firm foundation.

He established and became the executive chairman of Transnational Bank which has since been acuired by Access Bank of Nigeria. In 2016, he established Maisha Microfinance Bank Ltd and became the Director and Chairman. He also ventured into the hospitality industry and to date he maintains interests in some of the top resorts in Kenya. His interests therefore cover the financial, media, real-estate and hospitality sectors.

In 1987 Dr. Kangwana was appointed Kenya’s representative to Intelsat, based in Washington DC. Intelsat was the only satellite operator at the time. The institution controlled and assigned frequencies for television, radio and telephone communication across the globe. It was while representing Kenya at Intelsat, Kangwana saw the opportunities that existed in the mass-media, enteretainment and information industries and came up with the idea of establishing independent television and radio stations. Back then, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was the only outfit that offered radio and television broadcast in Kenya.

Dr. Kangwana made a request to the State and was granted frequencies and licences for television and radio broadcast. He mobilised resources to establish a radio station and the Kenya Television Network (KTN) which became the first ever free-to-air private television station in Africa. He imported broadcast equipment and along came engineers from the USA who closely worked with their Kenyan counterparts to oversee the installation and testing of the equipment for the new stations.

As a continental broadcast pioneer, KTN opened the space for free and independent access to information and news, which was poltical taboo at the time. This set the trend for free and indpendent media in Africa, and placed Africa on the global media map. KTN also helped to establish independent radio and TV stations in several African countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Ghana.

Public service

In 1998, he was appointed a Member of the Presidential Working Party on Education and Manpower Training for the Next Decade and Beyond. He also served as a Member of the Presidential Working Party on Employment and Training in Kenya (popularly known as Ndegwa Commission). In addition, for several years, he served as a member of the Council of public institutions such as Moi University, Maseno University and Kenyatta University.

Member of Parliament

Kangwana was among the founding members of the East African Legislative Assembly and served as a legislator between 2000 – 2006 during which time he served as a member of the House Business Committee and as Chair of the Legal, Privileges and Rules Committee that produced the Standing Orders of the House. He collaborated in drafting and steering through the Assembly at least six Bills that became law on their being assented to by the Heads of State of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, including establishment of the East African Community Customs Act.

Philanthropy

Hon. Kangwana has over the years participated in community development through generous contributions for the construction and upgrading of schools, churches and hospitals. He has also supported countless students at different levels of education and training.

National Honours

In recognition of his contribution to national development, in 1987, Dr. Kangwana was honoured by the Republic of Kenya as a Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) and in 2008, he was appointed as Honorary Warden by Kenya Wildlife Services in furtherance of his keen interest in conservation.