Born Mbiyu wa Koinange in 1907 in Njunu, Kiambu District he was the eldest son of Koinange Wa Mbiyu, a prominent Kikuyu chief during Kenya's colonial period, and Wairimu, the chief's great wife.
[6] From Ohio, Koinange then received a one-year postgraduate certificate in education from Columbia University in 1936.
[10] Upon his return to return to Kenya and in consultation with his father, Koinange Wa Mbiyu, Mbiyu Koinange decided to create an African-run, community owned college, modeled on his alma mater Hampton Institute and on Tuskegee University.
Mbiyu Koinange was the principal of this Kenya Teachers College situated at Githunguri, the site of the first independent elementary school founded by Musa Ndirangu.
[12] Following the proscription of the KISA and KKEA schools in late 1952, Mbiyu Koinange remained in England, returning ten years later as the secretary of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for East, Central and South Africa.