Author: Kamuti Kiteme
Fuller name: Kamuti Kiteme, Ed.D.
Alternate names: Prof. Kamuti Kiteme
Born: 23 September 1935
Died: 21 May 2024
Bio: Kiteme, son of Kamuti, was born in 1935 in the arid backwater of Mathuki, Mwingi District, Kenya, a few years before European missionaries invaded the area.  When he was four his mother became one of the first Christians in the area, and left his father, a traditional medical doctor, to marry a fellow convert in a more "civilized" part of the district.
     In late adolescence he came to realize the pressing need for formal schooling among his people and resolved to become an educator.  He received his diploma in teaching from State Teachers College, Kagumo, Kenya, in 1957. He then taught two years at Machakos High School and a year at Kyuso Intermediate School, where he was made Headmaster.
     In 1960, Professor Kiteme came to the United States for study, and in 1963 received his B.S.(Education) from Farleigh Dickinson University.  In 1965 he received his Master's degree from Bank Street College.  In 1970 he earned his Ed.D from Yeshiva University.
     Joining the faculty of the City College of the City University of New York in 1968, he served for many years as an Assistant and then Associate Professor of Education and Africana Studies. In 1992 he was promoted to Full Professor upon publication of We, The PanAfrikans. He retired in June, 1995.
    
After retiring from teaching, Prof. Kiteme served for several years as a member of the Standing Committee on Human Rights (Kenya), traveling throughout the country to address human and civil rights abuses. Next came an appointment to the Kenya National Library Service where he pursued the work he loved best: promoting the importance of literacy and knowledge for all. He was also a Council Member of South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) until the age of 82 and created the University's Motto: "Arid to Green." In 2016 Prof. Kiteme was designated a National Hero (Shujaa) of Kenya.