Godwin Murunga

Godwin Murunga is a Kenyan scholar, historian, political analyst, and public intellectual whose work focuses on African politics, governance, security, higher education, and the political economy of development.^[1] He currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), a pan-African social science research organisation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal.^[2][3]

Godwin Murunga
Murunga in 2025 at the ECOWAS 50th Anniversary, Abuja
Born	Kenya
Other names	Godwin Rapando Murunga
Citizenship	Kenyan
Education	Bachelor of Arts (BA); Master of Arts (MA); Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Alma mater	Kenyatta University; Northwestern University
Occupations	Political scientist; Public intellectual; Policy analyst; Executive Secretary of CODESRIA

Early life and education

Murunga was born in Kenya, and obtained Bachelor of Arts (BA); and Master of Arts from Kenyatta University and a PhD in history from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, US.^[1][4]

Career

Before his appointment as Executive Secretary of CODESRIA, Murunga held a range of academic, research, and leadership roles across institutions. He taught in the Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies at Kenyatta University in Nairobi.^[5] He also lectured at the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Nairobi and later served as director of the African Leadership Centre, Nairobi.^[3][4]

According to an interview in Feminist Africa, Murunga’s work emphasises historically grounded, Africa-centered approaches to social science research and critiques externally imposed narratives about African governance and security.^[6]

Leadership at CODESRIA

In 2017, Murunga was appointed Executive Secretary of CODESRIA, becoming the organisation’s seventh executive head since it was founded.^[7][2]

Murunga oversees CODESRIA continental research networks, training programmess, and initiatives supporting early-career African scholars, while centring Africa-centered knowledge production and challenging neocolonial narratives in social science research.^[8]

Public scholarship

Murunga is a regular contributor to Kenya’s Daily Nation, writing on governance, security, democracy, and regional politics.^[9] He has also written opinion pieces for CNN, appearing as an expert commentator on African politics and security issues.^[10] His interviews and commentary have also been featured on platforms including Africa Uncensored and The Elephant, particularly during the COVID‑19 pandemic.^[11][12]

Selected publications

• Murunga, Godwin R., Ibrahim O. Ogachi, and Jimi Adesina. “Reflections on Social Policy in Africa.” CODESRIA Bulletin, no. 6 (2021): 2.

• Murunga, Godwin R., Ato Kwamena Onoma, and Ibrahim Oanda Ogachi. “CODESRIA’s Meaning-making Research Initiatives (MRI).” Africa Development / Afrique et Développement 45, no. 4 (2020): v–x.

• Murunga, Godwin R. “Moments of anxiety and fear: The Kenyan post-election violence, 2007–2008.” In Kenya after 50: Reconfiguring the Future, edited by Kimani Njogu and John W. Harbeson. Nairobi: Twaweza Communications, 2014.

• Murunga, Godwin R., and Shadrack W. Nasong’o (eds.). Kenya: The Struggle for Democracy. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), 2007.ISBN 978-1842778579

• Murunga, Godwin R. “The state, civil society and democracy in Kenya.” Review of African Political Economy 36, no. 122 (2009): 156–157.

• Murunga, Godwin R. Spokes of the Wheel: Ethnicity and the Politics of Nationalism in Kenya. Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), 1999.

See also

• CODESRIA
• Pan-Africanism
• Isabel Casimiro