Kamau Wairuri is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator and public affairs consultant with expertise in the cross-cutting themes of security & justice, elections, human rights, youth empowerment and gender within the broader subject areas of African Politics, International Development and Public Policy. He holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Arts degree (Political Science and Sociology) from the University of Nairobi.

Kamau is an experienced researcher whose work has been published in academic journals and books. He has published peer-reviewed work in leading academic journals including African Affairs and Africa. He has also published several chapters in academic books, the latest of which is a study of policing in Kenya in the Routledge Handbook for the Horn of Africa. He has also published various technical reports. He has also presented his research work in various conferences in Nairobi (Kenya), Johannesburg (South Africa), Paris (France), Edinburgh and Cambridge (UK).

Kamau is an experienced educator in the Higher Education sector having delivered lectures and classroom teaching at Strathmore University and the University of Edinburgh on research, public policy and international development. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).

As a public affairs consultant, Kamau has extensive experience advising leaders and organisations in the public, private and development sector on matters relating to politics, public policy and governance. Previously, he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, where he advised senior government leaders in Africa on various areas of development. Beyond that, he has advised various local and international agencies in the development sector including the Danish Agency for Human Rights (DIGNITY), the Election Observation Group (ELOG), the Economic and Social Rights Centre (Hakijamii) and Equality Now. He has also worked with and supported several public sector agencies on public policy matters including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF).

Kamau is a thought leader whose writing for popular audiences have been published in Kenyan newspapers including Daily Nation, The Standard and The East African and respected blogs such as African Arguments. He is presently the host of The Kenyanist, a podcast that explores the social and political issues that Kenyans face.

He is a member of several professional bodies including the British Institute of Eastern Africa (BIEA), the African Studies Association (UK) and the Development Studies Association (UK).