Minister of Foreign Affairs - Raphael Tuju

Full Name: Hon.Raphael Tuju, E.G.H., MP

D.O.B. 1959.

The minister for Foreign Affairs and the Member of Parliament for Rarieda Constituency in Bondo district. He holds a master’s degree in mass communication from Leicester University in the United Kingdom.

Tuju has vast experience in mass communication, public relations and film production and has worked in Africa, the United States and Europe. He is the director of Ace Communications Limited and the chairman of the Development Communications Institute, which have developed media training programs for, among others, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and the All Africa Conference of Churches’ Communication Training Centre.

He has produced several international radio and television programmes for international broadcast, most dealing with development issues. He has produced shows on topics ranging from female genital mutilation to family planning and HIV/AIDS. He has also done public relations consultancies for several international organisations including UNICEF and the World Bank.

Under his leadership, Ace Communications was honoured with a special one-time International Emmy Award for best international television campaign for their contribution to UNICEF’s “Say yes to children” campaign.

Tuju entered politics in the year 2002 when he successfully vied for the Rarieda constituency seat, after which he was appointed minister for Tourism and Information. When the ministry was split in 2004, he became the minister of the newly-named Ministry of Information and Communication. However, following the death of Emmanuel Karisa Maitha, Tuju continued to act as the minister for Tourism and Wildlife until February 2005.

He is a member of the Public Relations Society of Kenya, the International Mass Communication Society and the African Council for Communication.