David Wasawo

Professor David Peter Simon Wasawo (17 May 1923 – 4 February 2014) was a Kenyan zoologist, conservationist, and university administrator. After studying at Uganda's Makerere University he earned an M.A. at the University of Oxford and a PhD at University of London. He taught at Makerere University, and was Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Nairobi, and later chancellor of Great Lakes University of Kisumu.

He was the first East African to receive a degree in science, and taught several prominent East African academics. His research subjects included the marbled lungfish and oligochaete worms, and he later served as science advisor, director, and consultant to several international development organizations. He was awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Kenyatta University and the University of Nairobi and was commended to Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear by the Kenyan government.

Early life and education Professor Wasawo was born 17 May 1923 in Gem, Siaya County, Kenya, to parents Petro (Peter) Onyango Osare and Ana Omondi, a family of Kenyan Luo. He entered Maseno School in 1937 and attended Alliance High School from 1942 to 1943, where he was taught by mathematician Edward Carey Francis, who later, when asked who was the most brilliant student he had ever taught, answered "Far and away, David Wasawo".

Professor Wasawo entered Makerere University, Uganda, in 1944, which at the time only granted diplomas not degrees. He focused in biology and excelled in his studies, and the Principal of Makerere provided full support for Professor Wasawo to attend Oxford University in England. He received the degree of Master of Arts in Zoology in 1951 becoming the first East African to be awarded a degree in science. Wasawo earned a PhD from the University of London in 1959.

In 1965, Professor Wasawo joined the administration of the University of Nairobi, serving as Deputy Principal from 1965 to 1970. He was Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Science until his retirement in 1971.

Professor Wasawo died at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi on 4 February 2014, at the age of 90. Upon his death, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga called Wasawo Kenya's first African professor, "an icon who promoted science-based education and lifted the country’s reputation internationally from early days of independence."

Personal life Professor Wasawo was married to Ruth P. Lusinde, and had two sons and two daughters. He was a friend of Tom Mboya, a leader in the Kenya independence movement, and was best man at Mboya's 1962 wedding.

Honors Professor Wasawo received honorary degrees from Kenyatta University (1993) and the University of Nairobi (1999), each of which awarded him the degree of Doctor of Science.

Publications (with S. A. Visser)

(with P. Omodeo)