Hon. Mizengo Pinda

Chancellor

Hon. Mizengo Pinda is the former Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania (2008 to 2015). He is an alumnus of the University of Dar es Salaam, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Law (LLB). He previously held various key leadership positions, including Member of Parliament (2000 to 2015), Deputy Minister (2000 to 2005) and then Full Minister (2006 to 2008) in the Prime Minister’s Office. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Hon. Mizengo Pinda served as the State Attorney in the Ministry of Justice, as an Assistant Private Secretary to the President, and as a Clerk to the Cabinet. He is also the current Chancellor of the Open University of Tanzania; Chairman of the newly established Presidential Food and Agriculture Delivery Council and a Member of the Governing Board of the Mwalimu Nyerere Leadership School (Kibaha).

Hon. Philemon L. Luhanjo

Chairman of the University Council

Hon. Philemon L. Luhanjo is the seventh Chief Secretary of the United Republic of Tanzania (2006 to 2011). He holds a Diploma in Public Administration from Mzumbe University (the then Institute of Development Management) and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He has served as an Administrative Officer (1975 to 1976); Planning, Coordination, and Workforce Officer (1977 to 1983), Acting Assistant Commissioner for Workforce Planning and Training (July to December 1983), and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Hon. Philemon Luhanjo worked in the Office of the President as an Assistant Secretary to the Chief Secretary and as a Secretary to the Cabinet (1984 to 1986). He has also served as a Clerk of the Cabinet in the Office of the President (1986 to 2005). Moreover, was the Chairman of the Council and Acting Chancellor of Sokoine University of Agriculture.

Prof. Lesakit S. Mellau

Vice Chancellor

Prof. Lesakit S. Mellau (PhD), is a Tanzanian citizen and a registered Veterinary surgeon (Reg. No 500). He graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) degree in 1990 and a Master of Veterinary Medicine degree (MVM) in 1996 at Sokoine University of Agriculture. At Master level he worked on “Epidemiology and Pathology of viral and bacterial causes of diarrhea in neonatal animals”. At Doctoral degree (PhD) he specialized in Veterinary Internal Medicine, majoring in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine in animal populations. He underwent courses in research ethics, epidemiology, advanced statistics, and experimental designs. He holds a Diploma in “Herd Health” from the Ruppin Institute of Higher Education in Israel and a Certificate in Ethics and Animal Welfare in Scientific Research. At various levels Prof. Mellau teaches Food Animal Medicine, Herd Health, Epidemiology, Statistics and Data Management, and Research Methods.

Prof. Mellau held various administrative positions at Sokoine University of Agriculture including Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Deputy Dean, and Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. In December 2014 the 4^th phase President of the United Republic of Tanzania H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete appointed Prof. Mellau to become the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic, Research, and Consultancy); of the newly established public University, a position he held for a period of 4 years, until December 2018. In January 2019, while serving as DVC Academic as well, Prof. Lesakit Mellau was appointed Acting Vice Chancellor of MJNUAT. He held that position until 23^rd November 2023 when he retired from the public service after attaining the compulsory retirement age. On 24^th November 2024, Prof Mellau was granted a 2-year contract, and simultaneously appointed Vice Chancellor of MJNUAT until November 2025.

Prof. Joel S Mtebe

 Deputy Vice Chancellor - ARC (Academic, Research and Consultancy)

Joel S. Mtebe is an Associate Professor of Computer Science. He served as the Principal of the College of Information and Communication Technologies (CoICT) from December 2021 to November 2024. Before this role, he was the Director of the Center for Virtual Learning at the University of Dar es Salaam from 2015 to 2021. He works as a consultant in various local, regional and international organization including  Pan African Virtual and E-University (an Umbrella of African Union), Edtech Hub, and International Rescue Committee, Inc.. Currently, he coordinates two key portfolios—curriculum review and digitization—under the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) Project at the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. Prof Mtebe is a dedicated academician who has published more than 80 articles in several highly ranked outlets, supervised and examined more than 30 Masters, and 10 PhD students in Tanzania and beyond. He is an Editor in Chief of  Journal of ICT systems (JICTS) and Associate Editor of The IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, and the East African Journal of Science, technology and Innovation. He is also a co-opted board member of the Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) and serves on the board of the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE).

Email:joel.mtebe@mjnuat.ac.tz OR dvc_arc@mjnuat.ac.tz

Prof. Lemayon L. Melyoki

Deputy Vice Chancellor - PFA (Planning, Finance and Administration)

Lemayon L. Melyoki, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Accounting. He studied at the University of Dar es Salaam and obtained a BCom dregree in Accounting (Hons) in 1997 and joined the University of Twente, Netherlands, where he graduated with Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1999 and a PhD in 2005. Prof. Melyoki obtained the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualification awarded by the National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) in 2001. He held various administrative and managerial positions at the University of Dar es Salaam and has been a member of Advisory Boards of Tanzania Forest Research Institute (TAFORI) and the Tanzania Tree Seeds Agency (TTSA). He has supported a number of large public sector projects including the Africa Local Council Oversight and Social Accountability (ALCOSA) and Legal Sector Reform Program (LSRP) both funded by various Development Partners including the World Bank, SIDA, and DANIDA and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Prof. Melyoki has researched and published widely in the fields of governance, leadership/management, and entrepreneurship with recent publications appearing in various renowned peer-reviewed journals including Journal of International Management, Journal of Global Mobility, Journal of Extractives and Society, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He has co-authored a book on ‘Essentials of General Management in Africa’, published by Francis and Taylor. He participated in the preparation of the Country Report for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) on Tanzania in 2008 and 2018 focusing the corporate governance components.

E-mail: lemayon.melyoki@mjnuat.ac.tz OR dvc_pfa@mjnuat.ac.tz