Meanings Behind Magoha's 11 Titles That Confused Kenyans

George Magoha, the strict and powerful Education CS on Friday, October 25 raised the curiosity of Kenyans when a picture of him bearing his 11 titles was shared online.

The image was captioned "Prof George. A.O. Magoha, IOM, MBS, EBS, CBS, MBBS, FKNAS, FWACS, FICS, FCS (ECSA), FAAS, FMCS (Urol.)."

A picture of Magoha showing his various titles on Friday, October 25. Photo: The Standard.

Most Kenyans kept guessing but did not find the correct meaning of the 11 titles that followed his name.

According to his biography found on The University of Nairobi website, the first title, IOM means International Order of Merit which he was awarded in 2001 for his research in the cancer of the penis.

MBS stands for Member of the Burning Spear, an award that he got in 2005, which was followed by EBS (Elder of the Burning Spear) in 2006.

CBS means Chief of the Burning Spear which he received in 2017, while MBBS means Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

FKNAS is a title given to Kenyans who were part of the National Academy of Sciences, meaning Magoha was a member.

FWACS stands for Fellow of West African College of Surgeons which he attained in Lagos, Nigeria in 1990 according to his 91-page curriculum vitae.

F.C.S. (ECSA) shows he was a member of the Fellows for International Colleges of Science. (Fellow, College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa) in 2002.

FMCS indicates he had another academic qualification in Clinical and General Surgery from Nigeria in 1980. He also had a thesis on the same in 1985. 

These awards are mostly from his academic and public service experience.

Cabinet Secretary George Magoha