She is best known for her work studying the history, ethnography, and folklore of peoples across Africa, particularly among the Nilotic and Bantu groups.
Chesaina graduated from Uganda's Makerere University with a bachelor's degree in French and English in 1971.
[2][1] Since the 1970s, she has been influential in helping engrain Kenyan literature in the nation's education system.
[4][5][6][7] She has also advocated in favor of compensating oral history research subjects for their participation.
[8] Chesaina temporarily left her post at the University of Nairobi for three years, from 2000 to 2003, to serve as Kenya's high commissioner to South Africa.