Mwazemba to head Oxford University Press

Fast-rising publisher John Mwazemba (left) has found a new home at the hill. Mr Mwazemba, one of Kenya’s youngest top publishing personalities, this week moved to head the Oxford University Press East Africa (OUPEA) situated  in the Upper Hill area of Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Mr Mwazemba is a household name in the publishing industry, having joined it as an editor and risen through the ranks to the pinnacle of an international publishing outfit.
  • He started his publishing career at Macmillan Kenya, now indigenised and renamed Moran Publishers. 
  • Mr Mwazemba holds a Bsc degree in Information Science from Moi University, where he majored in publishing, and a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the University of Nairobi, where he is currently pursuing a PhD (his thesis is on digital publishing trends in Kenya).

Fast-rising publisher John Mwazemba has found a new home at the hill. Mr Mwazemba, one of Kenya’s youngest top publishing personalities, this week moved to head the Oxford University Press East Africa (OUPEA) situated  in the Upper Hill area of Nairobi.

A statement from OUPEA, one of Kenya’s oldest publishing houses and virtually the only remaining multinational on the country’s publishing terrain, said Mr Mwazemba took up his duties at the new station as the general manager on Wednesday.

The OUPEA is a branch of Oxford University Press, which is a department of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.  The publishing house has operated in Kenya for over 60 years.

Mr Mwazemba, 39, joins OUP from Phoenix Publishers, where he had been the managing director from 2012.

He started his publishing career at Macmillan Kenya, now indigenised and renamed Moran Publishers. 

OUP Africa Regional Director Lieze Kotze described Mr Mwazemba as having the requisite passion and skill to drive Oxford forward and will play a key role in developing quality learning resources in the curriculum now under review.

Mr Mwazemba is a household name in the publishing industry, having joined it as an editor and risen through the ranks to the pinnacle of an international publishing outfit.

Industry observers see his meteoric rise at a relatively young age as giving hope to younger professionals that they, too, have a future at the high table of things in the publishing world.

Mr Mwazemba holds a Bsc degree in Information Science from Moi University, where he majored in publishing, and a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the University of Nairobi, where he is currently pursuing a PhD (his thesis is on digital publishing trends in Kenya).

Besides his publishing assignments, Mr Mwazemba has been a prolific commentator on books and publishing in the Saturday Nation’s Weekend magazine, East Africa’s premier literary journal.

“I am excited to be part of the great team that will take Oxford to the next level. Oxford University Press has a deserved reputation as the leading educational publisher in high quality educational materials.

We have a tremendous opportunity to grow further to match the demands and the high expectations of our clients,” Mr Mwazemba said on his appointment.