Daystar University is one of the best higher learning institutions in Machakos county.
It is located on a hilly land near Lukenya Girls high school in Athi River. Since its establishment, many businesses and residential houses have been put up around the area to cater for the increasing student population.
Daystar University has another campus in Nairobi.
In 1967, an American missionary by the name Dr Donald K. Smith and an African journalist Pheko Motsoko founded Daystar Communications which would later grow to become the present-day university.
It was started as a communications firm to disseminate messages of Christ to church leaders. In 1971, Daystar Communications started offering short-term training programmes to help church leaders acquire communication skills.The university was given a charter in 1994 and has since expanded from a communication school to have four other schools including arts and humanities, science, English and health, human and social sciences and school of business.