WIK DAFI Scholar Becomes Student President at University of Nairobi

Monica takes her oath of office as UNSA President on March 25th, 2023.

A daughter of a pastoralist, Monica fled the civil war in South Sudan to first settle in Kakuma and later Eldoret as a refugee. She was accompanied by her aunt, brother, and cousin. Today, Monica is the president of the University of Nairobi Students Association (UNSA), a council that serves about 70,000 students across 6 colleges and 13 campuses. She is also the first international student and female refugee to clinch the highly coveted position.

Looking back, she recalls the many difficulties and challenges that she faced. “I did not think much about school because I knew I was going to get married and settle in the village. My father was also skeptical about educating his favourite daughter,” she remarked. Well aware of the gender stereotypes that girls face when accessing education, Monica was determined to go to school after arriving in Kenya. With the support of her aunt, she enrolled for her primary education in Eldoret starting Grade 1 when she was 11 years old. Monica said that when she arrived, “I only knew how to respond when asked what my name is”. She recieved extra tuition and support from her teachers and friends to catch up with her classmates. This effort paid off, as she ultimately topped the class in that year and was awarded a full scholarship by the school for her primary education. “I had to work extra hard which involved waking up as early as 4.00 am. It was not in vain as I managed to score 402 marks out of a possible 500 in my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Exams'“, she said.

These scores secured her a high school scholarship at the Anestar Group of Schools, where she honed her leadership skills as a Head Girl alongside an impressive academic record. Scoring an impressive B-(minus) in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Exams, she would be among the beneficiaries of the 2019 WIK DAFI scholarship awards, eventually joining the University of Nairobi to study Law at their Parklands Campus.

She first joined politics when she was elected the International Students Representative during her second year at the University of Nairobi. Her counterparts in politics would later inspire her to vie for the top job as UNSA president. “When I announced my candidature, I received backlash from students who argued that only Kenyan students could lead,” said Monica.

It turned out that this only fueled her determination. Monica won the election with a margin of 25 delegate votes against 8 and 6 from two other opponents. “Winning the elections was an emotional moment for me as it was not easy. As the largest University in Kenya, UNSA politics are largely influenced by national political parties which I was not affiliated to,” she remarked.

Looking into the future, Monica hopes that her leadership inspires more women, especially refugees, to claim their space in the leadership circles. Monica said: “I travel to my home country each year to mentor girls and inspire them. I want to show them that nothing is impossible.”

As she looks forward to one day serving her home country and contribute to South Sudan’s legal system, Monica is now focused on delivering on her mandate to provide visionary leadership under the pillars of integrity, inclusion, innovation and diplomacy.

The Windle International community wishes Monica a successful tenure!