Nyamira varsity row far from over as West Mugirango MP opposes Ruto order

The dispute over where the proposed Nyamira University will be located seems far from over after West Mugirango MP, Mr Steve Mogaka, dismissed President William Ruto’s recent declaration that it will be set up in Kiabonyoru.

Mr Mogaka, who was speaking in Egeseri village in his Constituency Thursday, just a day after Dr Ruto concluded his three-day tour of Gusii region, claimed that hecklers were hired to harass the President into making the declaration.  

“I want to apologise following the (bad) behavior he was shown in Kiabonyoru...There are people who were hired and ferried there to disrupt the president’s function by pressuring him to declare that a university will be established there,” said Mr Mogaka.

The lawmaker reckons that President Ruto had bowed to pressure and had given them the university “if that is what you are shouting for”.

“That is not an official issuance of a university location in Kenya or Nyamira in particular. I am a lawyer and can confirm that anything you are pressured to do is null and void ab initio,” he remarked.

He now wants the Commission for University Education (CUE) to disqualify the Kiabonyoru order and independently decide, as a State agency, where the university should be established.

Additionally, he urged the president to distance himself from the issue of university site identification, saying that it was an unjust declaration.

“To the commissioners of CUE, please disqualify that location from among the sites you are considering for a university so that you can look like an independent commission that works with integrity. We will defend you as parliamentarians from Nyamira,” said the lawmaker.

Nyamira is one of the few devolved units in Kenya that has no university. The process of establishing one in the area was started by late former governor John Nyagarama.

However, there has been contestation among elected leaders on where exactly the university should be located, with every MP lobbying for their own constituency.

Besides Kiabonyoru, other proposed sites include Manga in Kitutu Masaba, Senator Kebaso Secondary School and Riakimai in West Mugirango.

Kiabonyoru lies on the border of North Mugirango and Borabu constituencies.