Mount Kenya University Rwanda (MKUR) is set to officially launch its memoir on February 10, 2023.

The memoir titled Mountain Meets Land of a Thousand Hills, tells the history of the university’s entry into Rwanda and its successes so far.

Senator Prof. Ephrem Kanyarukiga will be the chief guest at the event to be held at MKUR in Kagarama, Kicukiro District.

During the Friday event, MKUR will also unveil the name of its hospitality training hotel, which is presently under construction.

Mountain Meets Land of a Thousand Hills is a step-by-step account of Mount Kenya University’s epic journey into Rwanda. It features interviews with Rwandan and Kenyan personalities, as well as university alumni.

It also details how the university started with a small town campus along KN4 Avenue, formerly avenue de la paix in Kigali, and then established a science centre in Kicukiro before assembling its academic infrastructure into the ultra-modern MKUR based in Kagarama.

The book also traces the history of the university founder and chairman Prof. Simon Gicharu. In secondary school, Gicharu rubbed shoulders with a teacher who hailed from Rwanda, and the interaction sowed the seeds of his interest in education in Rwanda.

After his university education, Prof. Gicharu went to the United Kingdom (UK) on a British Council scholarship. While there, he observed that young Africans yearned for quality higher education, but their dreams were often frustrated by the high cost of studying overseas.

As a trained teacher, he resolved to do something about it. The outcome of that resolve was a college which he established in Kenya in 1996. That college later grew into a university, Mount Kenya University, the mother of MKUR. MKU is one of the largest universities in East Africa.

In a press release sent to media houses, MKUR Vice-Chancellor Designate, Prof Edwin Odhuno said the book also highlights Rwanda’s intrinsic beauty and key attractions.

"The book was compiled with input from our Department of Communication and Mass Communication. Books, as American author Stephen King says, are uniquely portable magic. We hope Mountain Meets Land of a Thousand Hills brings out this magic,” Prof. Odhuno said.

He added: "This book will be a good read. It will enrich the public’s knowledge and serve as a good reference in libraries, archives, and schools.”

On his part, Prof. Gicharu said institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to document their own history for the sake of future generations.

"We hope that this book will be a first edition and will be periodically updated to not only tell the story of MKUR, but also of the beautiful country, Rwanda,” he said.