The Institute for Development Studies was pleased to host Dr Mary Kinyanjui’s Valedictory Lecture titled “ The Scars on My Foot: Scholarship on Agency of Kenya’s ‘Invisible '.” Dr Mary Njeri Kinyanjui is a former researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, and a PhD graduate of Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. A visiting scholar at the Rockefeller Bellagio Centre, UNRISD and the Five College Women's Studies Research Center (Mount Holyoke), she is Kenya's foremost authority on the Utu-Ubuntu economy, informal livelihoods and African feminist thought. She is the founder of Beyond Knowledge Horizons and hosts the YouTube channel Mary Njeri Media.

In this compelling public lecture, Dr Mary Njeri Kinyanjui, scholar, activist and pioneering voice in African feminist and economic thought, draws on a lifetime of lived experience to challenge everything we think we know about development, economics and who counts as an expert. From the coffee farms of Gatundu North to the halls of Cambridge, from the Jua Kali sheds of Nairobi to a domestic violence shelter in Phoenix, Arizona, this is a story of survival, resistance and radical wisdom.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof Paul Kamau, Director of Research at the Institute for Development Studies, stated that it was a great honour to celebrate one of our own, a seasoned and exemplary scholar in development studies. Dr Kenneth Ombongi, the Associate Dean, Postgraduate Studies at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, noted that it was a pleasure to gather to celebrate scholarship, honour service, and pay tribute to one of the distinguished intellectuals of the University of Nairobi. He further shared his personal history with Dr Kinyanjui from Cambridge University.

Representing the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Maina Wagacha, the Director of Innovation and Intellectual Property Management delivered remarks and noted that the university appreciates her contribution to knowledge. Dr Njoki Wamai from the United States International University- Africa took the audience through a number of her published books that have continued to redefine development.

Her former colleagues, Dr Grace Ongile and Dr Kaendi Munguti, also reflected on their professional and academic experiences with Dr Kinyanjui. This was followed by reflections from her former students, family, friends and the community.

Dr Anne Kamau gave the vote of thanks and appreciated the university, the planning team, the IDS director, publishers, family, community and friends for making the valedictory lecture a successful event. She appreciated and recognised Dr Kinyanjui’s contribution to development studies.