NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 25 — The United Nations in Kenya has named Professor Michael Ndurumo, the first deaf professor in East Africa and founder of the Africa Institute of Deaf Studies and Research, as the 2025 United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year.
The announcement came during celebrations to mark United Nations Day, commemorating 80 years since the adoption of the UN Charter on October 24, 1945—eight decades of global cooperation for peace, sustainable development, and human rights.
The UN honoured Professor Ndurumo for his extraordinary contributions to disability rights and inclusive education, and for a lifetime of work that has transformed the landscape of communication, education, and equality in Kenya and across the region.
Deaf since the age of eight, Prof. Ndurumo’s journey is a story of resilience, intellect, and innovation.
Unable to hear or speak, he learned to communicate with his father through writing, filling notebooks with conversations that bridged their silent world. At the time, Kenya had no established sign language.
After pursuing higher education in the United States, he returned to Kenya with a mission — to create a language for the deaf community.
What began as a dream became a national transformation: he developed Kenyan Sign Language (KSL), now recognized as Kenya’s official sign language and widely adopted in South Sudan and across East Africa.
Often referred to as the “Father of Sign Language in Kenya,” Prof. Ndurumo also drafted the law requiring all television stations to include sign language interpretation during news bulletins, ensuring millions of Kenyans with hearing impairments can access information on equal footing.
His leadership helped shape the Persons with Disabilities Act (2003) — later amended in 2025 — and he was instrumental in the inclusion of Kenyan Sign Language in the 2010 Constitution.
Over the years, he has trained more than 500 teachers, mentored countless students, and founded institutions that continue to advance education, inclusion, and opportunity for persons with disabilities.
“Professor Ndurumo’s story is one of courage and conviction — of a man who turned silence into a language, and isolation into inclusion,” said Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).
“He has given voice to millions of Kenyans who were once unheard. As we celebrate the UN’s 80th anniversary — and reflect on the ideals of equality and inclusion that unite us — we honour a man who has embodied those ideals with grace, brilliance, and humility.”
Dr. Stephen Jackson, the UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, said Ndurumo’s legacy is a living embodiment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Professor Ndurumo’s life reminds us that inclusion is not charity — it is justice,” he said. “He took the silence that life imposed on him and transformed it into a language that has given millions the power to learn, to work, and to belong.”
During the ceremony, the Hifadhi Farmers’ Cooperative Society Group was recognized as the runner-up, commended for its innovative beekeeping and forest conservation initiatives in Kenya’s Eburu Forest.
The group’s use of traditional log hives has helped restore ecosystems while supporting sustainable livelihoods.
Each year, the UN in Kenya Person of the Year Award recognizes an individual or organization whose achievements advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and embody the spirit and ideals of the United Nations — inspiring others to build a more inclusive, just, and sustainable future.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei congratulated Prof. Ndurumo, calling him an “inspiration to generations of Kenyans” and a symbol of what resilience and vision can achieve in advancing equality.