Currently, he is the President and Chief Executive, of the Africa Policy Institute (API) and an adjunct Scholar at, the University of Nairobi and National Defense University (Kenya). Kagwanja was an adviser to the Government of Kenya on reforms and strategy (2007-2013) where he provided intellectual leadership towards the development of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and Foreign Policy (2014).

Kagwanja is a Special Adviser to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and is regularly consulted by African Governments, United Nations agencies, the EU, and key Governments (UK, USA, Japan, and China). He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the China-Africa Institute (CAI) and co-chair of the Academic Committee of the China-Africa Cooperation Network, among other organizations and advisory boards. .

Latest Books

  • Shared Prosperity: Tracking the Belt and Road Initiative in Kenya, 2018-2021
  • Development as Peace: The Impact of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (2023)