Council of Advisors

Mustafa Y. Ali, Ph.D.

Dr. Mustafa Yusuf Ali is the Director of Arigatou International – Nairobi and the Secretary General of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), a global network active in 50 countries. He previously served as the Secretary General of the African Council of Religious Leaders and Africa Representative of Religions for Peace International. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations and Sociology from University of Portsmouth, Britain; Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Studies from University of Nairobi (Kenya); and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Sciences from Moi University (Kenya).

Dr. Mustafa has been working to build peaceful, just and harmonious societies and promoting peaceful coexistence between faiths and communities around the world for more than two decades. Together with religious leaders and multi-lateral institutions including the African Union and the United Nations, governments and partners, Dr. Mustafa has been involved extensively in finding ways to peacefully and sustainably address some of the most intractable conflicts in the most challenging countries and locations in Africa including Nigeria, Libya, Somalia, Burundi and others.

He is a recipient of the 2012 Coexist International Peace Prize which was awarded to him in New York, USA, to honor his action-oriented work and leadership in interfaith relations and dialogue, as well as conflict transformation in Africa. A panel of judges, including former Ireland President Mary Robinson, Egypt Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa, Rabbi David Rosen and others voted him for ‘his vision and courage in mobilizing religious and faith leaders in transforming difficult and challenging conflicts in many parts of Africa’. He is the author of Globalization of Terrorism: From Sicariis, Assassins to ISIS.

Dr. Mustafa is the Co-founder and Chairman of the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Rev. Samuel Kobia, Ph.D.

Reverend Dr. Samuel Kobia is a Chairman, National Cohesion and Integration Commission in the Executive Office of the President. He is the first African to be elected General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (a worldwide fellowship representing more than 590 million Christians). He was appointed the All Africa Conference of Churches Ecumenical Special Envoy in 2010.

He is a Professor (honorary) of University of Buenos Aires (Argentina’s oldest university). He holds aDoctor of Divinity (honorary) from Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, 1993 (USA), and Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies from Fairfax University, Louisiana, 2003 (USA). He holds a Master of Artsin City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), a diploma in Urban Ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary (USA), anda Bachelor of Arts in Theology from St. Paul’s United Theological College (Kenya).

Among his many social, political and ecumenical involvements, in 1992,Dr. Kobia chaired Kenya’s National Election Monitoring Unit, chaired peace talks for Sudan in 1991, helped found the Nairobi Peace Group (1987) and the Fellowship of Councils of Churches in Eastern and Southern Africa (FOCCESA), was vice-moderator of the Commission of the WCC Programme to Combat Racism (1984-91), chaired the Frontier Internship in Mission (FIM) International Coordination Committee (1981-85), and helped reorganize the Zimbabwe Christian Council after independence (1980-81). Between 1987 and 1993, he served as the General Secretary of National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). In recognition of his position within the ecumenical family in Kenya and beyond, Dr. Kobia was awarded the country’s National Ecumenical Award and appointed chancellor of St. Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya, in 2007.

Dr. Kobia has written numerous papers and articles on Africa, Peace and Ecumenism. His publications reflect his vision and working experience. He is the author of Dialogue Matters: The Role of Ecumenical Diplomacy in the Run-up to the Independence of South Sudan (2013),and South Sudan: Free at Last (2011).

Mumo Nzau, Ph.D.

Dr. Mumo Nzau is a Lecturer at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies at the University of Nairobi (Kenya).He is a Fulbright Scholar who holds a Doctor of Philosophyand Master of Arts in Political Science, bothfrom the State University of New York at Buffalo (USA). He also holds aMaster of Artsin International Relations from United States International University – Africa (Kenya), in addition to other graduate-level training in the field of peace and conflict studies from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Kenya).

He has been a Senior Lecturer of Political Science at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and Adjunct Faculty at the United States International University –Africa (Kenya); as well as the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Nairobi (Kenya).

Dr. Nzau has is a key resource person in the Foreign Affairs, Internal Security, and Defense dockets in Kenya. His consultancy and research specialties include national security and defense strategy, conflict resolution and management, governance and developmenton which he has numerous peer-reviewed published works in the forms of books, book chapters and journal articles.

He is the author of Transitional Justice and After: Kenya’s Experience with IDP Resettlement and Peacebuilding since the 2007/08 Post-Elections Violence(2016).

Titus Ibui, E.G.H.

Titus Ibui is the Founder and Executive Director of Bell Industries Limited. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree, anda Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. He has extensive training in sales and training, advanced marketing and management, crop protection, planning and marketing, and finance.

He has worked as a Product Marketing Manager, Technical Manager, and Technical Sales Representative at Shell International Chemical Group. He has also worked for the Ministry of Agriculture as District Land and Farm Management Officer where he trained extension officers on land management and advised the District Land Board on suitability and viability of land subdivision.

He was a Member of Board of Directors of East African Portland Cement Company in Athi River (Kenya); Member of Management Board of the Methodist Guest House Ltd.; Member of Board of Trustee, Kenya Methodist University (KEMU);Director of Blue Waters Resort, Diani;Chairman of the Kenya Leather Development Council Board; and Council Member, China Africa Friendship Association – Kenya chapter.

He is a member of three professional associations: British Institute of Management (MBIM), Kenya Institute of Management (MKIM), and Marketing Society of Kenya (MMSK).

Ambassador Yusuf Abdulrahman Nzibo, Ph.D., E.B.S., O.G.W.

Ambassador Yusuf Abdulrahman Nzibo is the former National Chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM)– an umbrella body that represents the interests and aspirations of the Muslim community in Kenya. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Latin American Studies and a Master of Philosophy, both from the University Glasgow (Scotland);a Master of Business Administration from Strayer College (United States); and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Politics from the University of Nairobi (Kenya).

He served as a Commissioner of both the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (2009-2011) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya (November 2011 to January 2017). He was a Lecturer at the University of Nairobi for 10 years where he taught Latin American, Kenyan, and the History of Political Ideas. He has published several articles in local and international journals. He has specialized in the history of the spread of Islam into the interior of Kenya during the colonial period.

In 2006, he spearheaded the setting up of the first Islamic bank in Kenya (Gulf African Bank Limited) borrowing heavily on the knowledge he acquired from visiting several Islamic banks in both Dubai and Bahrain and the Meezan Bank of Pakistan. Prior to this, he served as the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority (1996 – 1998); Kenya’s Ambassador to the Netherlands covering Slovak and the Czech Republics (1998-2000); a non-resident Ambassador to Mexico and the Republic of Colombia (2000 – 2004); and to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (2004 – 2006).

H.E. Erastus Mwencha, E.G.H., M.B.S.

Ambassador Erastus Mwencha is the immediate former Vice Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). He was elected to this position in January 2008 by the Heads of State and Government of the 54 Member States of the African Union, and re-elected to the same position in July 2012. Prior to his election at the AUC, he worked at Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) for over 25 years, and served as its Secretary General for 10 years.

Amb. Mwencha contributed to the transformation of the regional body into a viable economic integration entity, with the largest free trade area (FTA) in Africa. He was particularly instrumental in contributing to the expansion of intra-COMESA trade, developing programs for private sector cooperation and trade with the rest of world, spearheading regional hard and soft infrastructure programs in transport, communication, and energy. He also developed the continental negotiating position for the Doha Round of Negotiations of the World Trade Organization, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and actively supported the programs to integrate women in development.

Amb. Mwencha has also held several senior roles within the Ministry of Industry in Kenya.