Sultan Dekow Maalim Sambul, one of northern Kenya’s most influential traditional leaders, studied Political Science in Pyongyang, North Korea, an educational journey that historians say reflects the socialist state’s outreach to African students during the Cold War.
Sultan Dekow earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science in Pyongyang before returning to Kenya, where he became a prominent traditional leader, political figure and respected peace mediator in the former Northern Frontier District.
Pyongyang is home to Kim Il Sung University, the country’s oldest and most prestigious university, which admitted international students under scholarship programmes offered to developing countries during the Cold War.
Historian Adan Makina said Sultan Deghow belonged to a generation of African leaders whose education extended beyond the continent as newly independent states built diplomatic and educational ties with countries in both the Eastern and Western blocs.
Makina said the Sultan’s studies in Pyongyang represent a little-known chapter in the history of northern Kenya.
“It highlights the global educational opportunities available to some African students during the ideological rivalry between East and West,” he said.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, North Korea strengthened relations with several African countries by offering higher education scholarships, technical training and other forms of cooperation.
The programmes formed part of Pyongyang’s broader diplomatic engagement with newly independent African states.
After completing his studies, Sultan Dekow returned to Kenya and emerged as one of the region’s most respected traditional authorities.
He played a leading role in conflict resolution, inter-clan reconciliation and community leadership, earning recognition for his efforts to promote peace and stability across northern Kenya.
Although his contributions to peacebuilding and community leadership are widely recognised, his education in North Korea has remained one of the least documented aspects of his public life.
Makina said it offers a rare insight into the international educational networks that shaped some African leaders during the Cold War.
Few Kenyans are publicly known to have studied in North Korea, making Sultan Deghow’s academic background a distinctive chapter in Kenya’s educational and diplomatic history.
