First African Woman to Get A Phd in Computer Science
Director School of Computing, University of Nairobi
Kenya ICT Hall of Fame - 2007 Education Inductee
Shy, charming, and soft spoken are the first impression that many get when they meet Dr. Katherine Wanjiro Getao. On closer observation and after spending a little time with her you will realize that she is anything but… her strong character, articulate speech and determination to succeed then create an indelible mark in ones mind.
Katherine is one of the few women who have achieved exceptionally in the field of Mathematics and Computer Science. She has the distinction of being the first African Woman to get a PhD in Computer Science. Born on 7th September 1960 at Tumutumu Mission Hospital, she is the last born of Alexander Njoroge and Isabella Wangui Getao’s four children. She attended Nyeri Primary School, later switched to Muthaiga Primary. She did her “O” and “A” levels at Kenya High School. Due to an asthmatic condition Kate had spent a lot of time with doctors and hospitals so despite being academically gifted she steered away from medicine when the time came to choose what to study at university. After completion of her “A” level education Katherine was admitted for Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree at the University of Nairobi but she felt that B.Sc. was not challenging enough and decided to look at another option.
She was awarded a scholarship by the British Council in 1979 to study Chemical Technology at Brighton Polytechnic in the United Kingdom, having agreed to dedicate some years teaching at the Kenya Polytechnic upon completion and return to Kenya. A tour round the Computer Science department sparked an interest in the area and she eventually managed to have her scholarship transferred to the Computer science department. At age 21 Katherine returned to Kenya in 1982, but was reluctant to teach at the Polytechnic and she immediately started job hunting. She got a job at the international Centre for Research in Agro Forestry ICRAF, where, she was initially the only female employed in a senior position in the computer section. Due to the disparities in salary and benefits that favoured expatriates, Katherine left ICRAF in 1984 and got a job with Kenya Shell Ltd as System Analyst and programmer, where she worked for three years. She left Kenya Shell for a job at the University of Nairobi (UON) where she taught up to 1986. At this time she left for post graduate studies after she received a scholarship to undertake her masters’ degree at the University of Essex.
Katherine went back to the UK for her Masters and Doctoral (PhD) studies, She specializing in Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems, a branch of computer science where normal computing concentrates on developing procedures to solve problems. Upon her return Katherine resumed her job at the faculty of Engineering, UON. In 1995 Katherine took a two year break to work for the International Bible Society as an editor of a youth journal. This was an opportunity for her to reach beyond the classroom and affect the lives of many through the IBS publications. Today Katherine is back at the University of Nairobi where she is Director School of Computing. She has many publications to her name and has compiled reports for international organisations such as UNESCO. She has a particular interest in ICT development in developing countries.
Katherine is a great I believer in empowering the youth, especially females, and is a positive role model for them in today’s fast changing world. She believes the youth can be empowered with the right guidance – she feels many of them do not dream. She has been quoted as saying ‘We do not achieve everything we would like to but it is always good to have high aspirations’ Katherine has not lacked female achievers in her large family circle. Her pertanal aunts; Mrs. Edith Matiba and Mrs. Joan Waithaka were teachers. Mrs. Matiba, currently a successful business woman, was a geographer; she holds a Masters Degree and lectured at the University of Nairobi before retirement. Mrs. Waithaka, a Former Head of Alliance Girls, which is among the best schools in Kenya, was renowned for her administrative qualities.
One of her maternal aunts, Mrs. Mary Wanjau, was the head of St George’s School in Nairobi for many years. Katherine has been quoted to say that “I didn’t consciously think about the success of women in my family until much later. I just assumed that everyone should have high aspirations and work hard to achieve them.” She’s also quoted as saying that “I can honestly say that gender was not an issue in my extended family.” Katherine’s success and achievements were modelled around the fact that women could also be achievers in academics and social life and be successful at the same time. Despite gender discrimination, constant illness and occasional failure, Dr Katherine Getao has not been deterred from succeeding academically and achieving her goals. Her success confirms that the poor performance of girls in science subjects is not an innate disability but a result of a defeatist attitude that cause them to shy away from science courses and a life that could ultimately make a great difference for this country. As an academician Katherine has contributed greatly to the Kenyan knowledge banks, she has been and continues to be a mentor to students and especially young women in the ICT fi eld and this has earned her a spot in the ICT Hall of Fame.
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