Rev. Professor(Associate) Aquiline Tarimo, S.J.
Principal - Hekima College
P.O. Box 21215
Ngong Road
00505 NAIROBI

Hekima College first opened its doors as a Jesuit School of Theology to a handful of students, mainly belonging to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), in 1984. From its inception, Hekima has had as its leitmotif the quest for “truth versus any form of ideology, the struggle for freedom versus any type of oppression, and the promotion of justice and peace versus any form of social disorder.” 
Responding to the African Continent’s dire need for peace and international co-operation, the college established an Institute of Peace and International Relations in 2004.  The Institute began offering a Master’s degree in peace studies and international relations and was accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education in the academic year 2007/2008. The institute now has an evening MA programme in peace studies and international relations this academic year, 2009/2010 due to public demand.  
This academic year also saw the opening of a new campus on Riara road where the institute is now housed.  Both the Woodley and Riara Campuses have modern facilities such as audio-visual facilities, internet cafés, typing-pools, chapels and a cafeteria (at Riara).   
The theology library is one of the best in the region owing to its rich book collections. Plans are in place for an equally good library at the Riara campus too.   Besides, Hekima College has a very competent core of teaching staff for all its programmes as well as visiting lecturers drawn from a rich variety of local professionals and international academicians.                                                     

 

From a handful of Jesuits in 1984, the theology programme of the college now boasts both male and female students from about fourteen local and international religious congregations as well as the diocese of Mamfe in Cameroun.  Our peace and international relations programmes appeal to students from all walks of life.  Besides Kenyans, we have students from other countries of Africa and beyond.  This academic year saw a 13% increase in the intake into the theology programme.  On account of the new programmes, the student body of the institute has also increased.
The theology programme not only seeks to offer students a contextualized theology, i.e., one that takes into account the needs of their contexts, it also seeks to form them as women and men  equipped to transform the said contexts.  Just as the theology programme seeks to form transformers of the world, so also the peace and international relations programmes seek to educate and form women and men who are equipped with appropriate skills for conflict transformation and peace-building in Arica.
Hekima College is the publisher of Hekima Review, a journal of Theology and Peace and International Relations.  Each academic year, the college convenes a Theological Week and a Peace Forum.  In addition, the college convenes a Forum for Exploring Faith in Public Life, a diversified symposium that seeks to contextualize our students’ studies and point them toward societal transformation.