Kathleen Openda Mvati is the chairperson of the Council of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication following an appointment by President Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2018. In August 2010, she was appointed Director of Communications at the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya (TJRC) in August 2010.

Before joining the TJRC, Openda had been in the field of Communications as a journalist and communications consultant for over 20 years.

While in the communications industry, Openda held various posts, including Head of Corporate Affairs for Barclays Bank and Nation Media Group. She was also a Communications Consultant for the TJRC before becoming its Director of Communications.

While working in television, Openda hosted various programmes on KTN such as The Breakfast Show, Third Opinion and Enterprise Kenya.

Openda was the narrator of An African Answer, a documentary done by Initiative of Change and shot in Kenya, showing the process of reconciliation after the post-election violence. Viewed widely as “an icon of excellence” according to the Eisenhower Fellowships website, Openda has received various awards, including being named an Eisenhower Fellow and a Chevening Scholar.

She was also a member of the Broadcasting Content Advisory Council (BCAB), a position she was nominated to by the Media Council of Kenya. She graduated from the University of Nairobi and the University of Wales Cardiff’s Broadcast Journalism Unit under the Thompson Foundation.