On Monday night, June 6, the Azimio La Umoja manifesto launch had a number of impeccable highlights. However, a 35-year-old techie stood out from the pack after he took to the podium to speak on the advancement of the technology sector in the country.
Christening Kenya as the Silicon Sahara of Africa, Bright Gameli, noted that the next government should enhance digital skills for youth to capitalise on.
The cyber security guru stood amongst influential politicians that had graced the event. Prior to gracing the political event, Gameli has been a known figure in the tech industry, having made history by publishing his first paper in North Korea and being presented as the first black engineer.
His story dates back to Ghana where he was born and raised. His love and passion for computers began at a tender age.
"One day we were moving houses and my dad had a briefcase and in it was a laptop. So he showed me a few things on it and promised to take me to a school where I would learn more," he stated during a past interview.
He became engrossed in technology once he found a book called Ms-Dos 6, which he read cover to cover. This led him to create his first computer virus at the tender age of eight years.
At the age of 14 years, Gameli and his family moved to Kenya where he joined St Mary's school. At the time, he created his second computer virus that locked out other students from accessing the computer that was connected to the internet in the school.
Further, he joined Daystar University to study Computer Science and sharpened his skills in ethical hacking. His hacking skills at times would land him into trouble with the law enforcement but he would be set free after explaining his case.
After completing his university education, Gameli joined Cellulant, touted as one of the best technology companies in Africa.
"After two years at Cellulant, I got a scholarship to study for a Masters in Advanced Information Science and Technology at the Pukyong National University in South Korea."
The techie graduated two years later and upon his father's request pursued a PhD in IT Convergence and Application Engineering at 26 years of age.
At the time, he sought consulting jobs from over 60 IT companies which were unsuccessful. The highlight of the PhD programme was when he got the chance to publish his first paper in South Korea while being presented as the first black Engineer in the country.
Later, he came back to Kenya and became the head of Cyber Security at Cellulant before ultimately moving to Dimension Data, formally known as Internet Solutions Kenya.
Here is Gameli's speech at the Azimio Manifesto launch:
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