By Gift Briton
The late Prof. Thomas Odhiambo, Prof. Calestous Juma and Prof. Wangari Maathai have been feted with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their distinguished contributions to science, technology and innovation across Africa.
Kenya’s National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) issued the recognition and awards during its third multisectoral conference and exhibition in Nairobi between 7th-10th April 2024.
“This recognition and awards are in honour and memory of eminent scientists in Kenya who have left us but left a footprint upon which we can all stand facing sight of the future,” Prof. Raphael Munavu, Member of NACOSTI Board remarked as he issued the Awards.
Prof. Odhiambo, Prof. Juma and Prof. Maathai’s efforts to promote science-led development and transform minds to conserve the environment in Africa uniquely stand out. They excelled in pushing Africa towards sustainable development and innovations and in their practical efforts to popularise science and technology as the driving force behind sustainable socio-economic prosperity in Africa at a time when the implementation of such ideas seemed extremely remote, he noted.
Prof. Odhiambo was a Kenyan entomologist who was recognized and respected worldwide. He directed research and scientific development in Africa for several decades and founded the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).
The organization was established in 1969, with Prof. Odhiambo as the Founding Director and now stands his enduring legacy. Today, icipe is a centre of scientific excellence and training in Africa, staffed mainly by African scientists. icipe’s major areas of research include disease vectors and beneficial insects. He was both the brain and force behind the creation of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) which is currently transforming lives on the African continent through science. Prof. Odhiambo was described as a “visionary entomologist harnessing science for Africa’s poor”.
Dr. Peggy Oti-Boateng, Executive Director at the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) received Prof. Odhimabo’s Lifetime Achievement Awards on behalf of the Academy and his family. “This is a great honour not only to Prof. Odhiambo who sowed a small seed forty years ago but also to Prof. Odhiambo’s family and the Academy. I also receive this award on behalf of Prof. Odhiambo’s family, AAS’ board and all fellows of the academy,” Dr. Oti-Boateng noted.
Prof. Juma is another global intellectual giant who contributed to Africa’s development. He founded the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in 1988 and served as its Executive Director until 1995. ACTS is a development research think tank on harnessing applications of science, technology and innovation policies for sustainable development in Africa.
Despite being a top Professor at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), Prof. Juma intensely focused on having Africa acquire, develop and utilise science and technology to overcome the high poverty levels in Africa. With a doctorate in science and technology policy studies, Juma wrote widely on science, technology, and the environment and won several international awards for his work on sustainable development. His new book, Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, received global attention.
Prof. Juma’s Award was received by Prof. Tom Ogada – Executive Director ACTS who noted: “Let take this opportunity on behalf of ACTS Governing Council and also on behalf of the family of the late Prof. Juma to say big thank you to the consortium that organized this conference to have honoured the great African STI guru.”
photo credit: Patrick Wallet
Prof. Maathai was the first African woman to receive a Nobel Prize. She is the Founding Chair of the Greenbelt Movement and Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies. Through the Green Belt Movement, Professor Maathai helped women plant more than 30 million trees on their farms and in school and church compounds across Kenya.
To date, initiatives have been successfully launched in Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. She made her mark as an uncompromising environmental conservationist, an ardent human rights crusader and a democracy champion. Maathai was the United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her work on the conservation of the environment and human rights earned her several honours and global respect.
Prof. Mabel Imbuga, former Vice Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, received Prof. Maathai’s Award nothing that “I am very humbled to receive this on behalf of Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies and the family of Prof. Maathai. This is a very important recognition, especially for women. Prof Maathai did wonders and preserved forests in Kenya. On behalf of all the women in Africa, we are very proud of what one woman can do. She planted a small seed that has grown into a big Mugumo tree.”
