In the list of Kenyan women who earned a PhD at a young age, Jacinta Mukonyo Mutwiwa’s name leads.
Mutwiwa attained the qualification before the age of 30 and her rise to the top is a testament to determination and hope.
Born and raised in Makueni County, Mutwiwa began her education at Uvunye Primary School, scoring 299 marks in the KCPE.
Her performance earned her admission to Kiu Secondary School, a day school in Makueni County, where she sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, emerging best with a B (Plain).
She proceeded to Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in 2012, where she pursued a degree in Education with a focus on Mathematics and Business Studies, graduating in 2015 with a First-Class Honours.
The remarkable performance impressed her lecturers who offered to sponsor her Masters degree. In 2016, she joined Kibabii University for Masters in Applied Mathematics and later a PhD from the same institution.
Mutwiwa’s doctoral studies were fully sponsored by the Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis for Africa (CEMA) fellowship.
Today, she serves a Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Kibabii University and the Coordinator of Linkages and International Affairs.
Her previous roles at the institution include part-time diploma instructor (2017-2019), and Graduate Assistant in the Department of Mathematics (2019-2020).
She also serves as the board Chairperson of Uvunye Secondary School and as a board member of St. Andriana Kiongwani Boys High School and St. Peter’s Mumias Boys High School.
In October 2025, Kibabii University announced that Mutwiwa had been named the Best Overall Presenter at the 3rd Busitema University Science, Technology and Innovation Symposium (BUSTIC 2025) held from 14th to 16th October 2025 at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Mbale City, Uganda.
Her presentation, titled “A Mathematical Model for the Dynamics of Stress and Depression among Kenyan University Students,” stood out among many submissions.
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