Dr. Kimani Njogu is

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n linguist known for his role in study and advocacy of

Kiswahili language Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

Life and career

Njogu was born in

Kericho County Kericho County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, counties in Kenya. The county seats between longitude 35°02' and 35°40' East and between the equator and latitude 0°23' South with an altitude of about 2002m above the sea level. It borders ...

. After teaching high school, he pursued further education in Swahili studies, gaining his bachelor's degree from

Kenyatta University Kenyatta University (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Nairobi County, Kenya. It acquired the status of university in 1985, being the third university after University of Nairobi (1970) and Moi University (1984). As of O ...

in 1985 and Masters from

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

. He joined the faculty of Kenyatta University. In 1988, he embarked on a scholarship at the department of Linguistics at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he completed his PhD in 1993 with a dissertation on dialogue poetry in East Africa. On returning to Kenya, he once again served on the faculty at Kenyatta University before becoming an independent scholar. He is the founder chairman of Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa, a body dedicated to the promotion of Kiswahili in Kenya. His book, ''Ufundishaji wa Fasihi: Nadharia na Mbinu'', coauthored with Rocha Chimera, won the 2000

Noma Award for Publishing in Africa The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (''French:Le Prix Noma de Publication en Afrique''), which ran from 1980 to 2009, was an annual $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who published in Africa. Within four years of its est ...

. He has also written a widely used Kiswahili dictionary. Njogu is the CEO of Twaweza Communications, a strategic communications firm. In 2012, he was among ten civil society activists given an award for promoting democracy, inclusion and equal opportunity by Ford Foundation to mark its fiftieth year in East Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njogu, Kimani Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Linguists Kenyatta University alumni University of Nairobi alumni Yale University alumni Academics of Kenyatta University Swahili-language writers People from Kericho County