Prof Njenga Munene’s new book, Rooted in Hope, aligns with the 2025 Auditor-General's report showing Egerton is Sh7 billion in debt and "technically bankrupt."
The man who was managing Egerton University’s finances between 2011 and 2016 has released a book detailing alleged corruption that he says has contributed to the institution’s troubles.
Prof Njenga Munene, who was once Egerton’s deputy vice chancellor (DVC) in charge of administration and finance, paints a worrying picture of the malaise that has long plagued the institution.
His remarks are confirmed by the Auditor-General’s report for the year ending June 2025, where Egerton was described as being in a state of “total bankruptcy”.
In his book, Prof Njenga implicitly accuses the institution’s top-most organ – the council – of abetting impropriety during his time there.
The autobiography, Rooted in Hope, reveals a cartel mindset among those overseeing the university’s assets, with a suggestion that as long as they continue with their habits, the institution will never recover.
Zetech University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Njenga Munene, addressing students at a graduation ceremony last year.
The Auditor-General said that by June 30, 2025, Egerton was Sh7 billion in the red.
“The statement of financial position reflects current assets balance of Sh3.2 billion and current liabilities balance of Sh10.1 billion, resulting in a negative working capital of Sh6.9 billion. Though the University made a surplus of Kshs.461.6 million during the year in comparison to deficit of Sh18.7 million in the prior year, the accumulated deficit balance amounted to Sh7,010,770,454 for the current financial year. The university is, therefore, technically insolvent and its ability to continue to sustain its services is dependent upon support from the national government and its creditors,” she noted.
Egerton University Njoro Campus main gate.
Prof Njenga’s dissection of the university’s problems starts with narration of a reconnaissance visit he made to the institution whose main campus is in Njoro, Nakuru County.
The aim of the secret visit was to gather information as he prepared to be interviewed for the deputy vice chancellor position. During that visit made on a Saturday, he writes, he observed a great deal of neglect.
“The tour was extensive. I took photographs and absorbed what I saw, and it shocked me. Never before had I encountered a place where people lived in such neglect,” he writes. “Many areas resembled ancient ruins or war-torn sites especially due to the incomplete projects with metal bars hanging out.”
When he was interviewed for the deputy vice chancellor position, a university official shared an analogy that Prof Njenga won’t forget.
“He posed a question, ‘Do you know the baobab tree? In Kikamba, we call it kiambaa,’ he said. I replied that I did. Then he continued, ‘The baobab tree is the biggest tree in the African savannah, but ants, small as they are, can bring it down. Egerton University is a baobab tree, and it has been brought down by human ants,’” recalls Prof Njenga.
When he landed the job, he came face-to-face with the “ants”. He found a system where staff were more concerned with filing dubious claims for compensation than doing what they were hired to do.
“In the first month, I held meetings with heads of estates, finance, administration, legal, student welfare, catering, halls, security, development, planning as well as health. We interrogated the issues as they were and explored where we wanted the university to be. Each of the heads had reasons why things were not going well. Each had a person, process, or lack of resources to blame for poor performance other than themselves,” Prof Njenga writes. “I had never encountered people with such a negative attitude as I did among the Egerton University staff.”
He pushed for an audit, which was resisted by the finance team until he ordered a stop to all operations. The stoppage managed to jolt the department, which had defeated many efforts to conduct audits before, into surrendering documents to the auditors.
A preliminary report was prepared by the end of January 2012, and the findings were damning.
“Imprests dating back to 1992 had not been surrendered by 2012. Student numbers and fees could not be reconciled. Double payments based on photocopied documents were confirmed. There were payments for non-delivered goods. The imprest surrender policy had been ignored by nearly all departments. Some staff were cleared to leave university while holding large, uncleared imprests,” writes Prof Njenga.
Zetech University Vice Chancellor Prof Njenga Munene when he appeared before the Public Investment Committee on Education and Governance at the Parliament Buildings Nairobi on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
He goes on: “Students graduated without clearing fee balances. Fake receipts were used to show fee payments. Foreign students paid in dollars, but the amounts were recorded in Kenya shillings in the books, while receipts reflected the dollar amount paid. The same officers who processed these payments also cleared students for graduation, making detection difficult.”
There were also issues of expenditures outside the budget, forged signatures used to cash cheques and payment for substandard goods.
“Books were riddled with gaps, making it impossible to determine the university’s financial status, even after the audit,” writes Prof Njenga.
The Auditor-General’s report for 2025 indicated that the university was owed Sh1.7 billion through various faults. Unsurrendered imprests, the audit said, stood at Sh55 million by June 30, 2025. It also revealed that students owed the university a whopping Sh1.6 billion. Of those, Sh1.3 billion is held by long-standing debtors.
Prof Njenga writes that he spent the better part of his tenure implementing the recommendations from the audit that was conducted at the start of his time as DVC, and that turned around the university’s fortunes. Some of the measures taken included vacating the university’s rented premises in Nairobi.
“The impact of these changes was enormous and by January 2013, the university had saved over Sh1 billion and was up to date with most payments. Salaries were paid on time, and all staff began receiving a bonus from self-sponsored programme funds,” writes Prof Njenga.
He states that when he made a request to the council asking for resumption of work on stalled buildings, the immediate question was where he could get the funds.
“When I said we had over Sh1 billion in the bank, he [council chairman] thought I was joking,” he states.
Consequently, many abandoned constructions were revived. In 2013, he writes, nine stalled projects were revived and done to completion.
Prof Njenga and the university also made various changes in the running of the farms that the university owns. A company was created to oversee the running of the university’s Ngongogeri Farm, and he was made a mandatory signatory.
In early 2012, they also terminated a lease of a portion of the farm that put it in the hands of an external party.
“We repossessed it and cultivated most of the Ngorongeri Farm. The farm was planted with barley, wheat, maize, and Rhode grass as well as cabbages, onions, spices, strawberries and potatoes,” Prof Njenga writes, adding that they also got into zero grazing of dairy cattle and keeping of poultry.
“When a parliamentary committee visited Egerton University, they were impressed by the farm’s high level of production. They observed that Egerton could potentially contribute to the national treasury and become food self-sufficient,” he writes.
However, after the produce was harvested and sold, he tried following up on payments and “my inquiries went unanswered”.
“To my astonishment, I later discovered that a few council members had secretly removed me as a signatory to the company accounts. This left me with no authority to question the manager who, on matters of finance, should have been answerable to me,” he adds.
“As a result, I never learnt how much was delivered [from the farm], how much was sold, or who received the payments. Subsequent audits revealed that the company was making losses despite initial projections indicating it would thrive.”
Just when he thought he had turned around the fortunes of the university and was good enough to rise to the vice chancellor (VC) position, Prof Njenga reveals the high-level manoeuvres that blocked his path from holding the role, equivalent to a university’s CEO.
Egerton University.
In one instance, he recalls how he was told to hire staff without following the university’s hiring procedures. He refused. He was also asked to award tenders to companies whose names he was given, and he – as the tender committee chair – could not budge. When he was confronted by “some governance members” on the issue of hiring staff, he reiterated his stand.
“They were visibly agitated and told me I had ‘shot myself in the foot’ and should expect no support in the VC succession or my contract renewal. I maintained my composure and continued with my duties. An advertisement for the VC position appeared in the papers in 2015. I applied, having met all the requirements. I was not shortlisted and questioned the criteria used. I was told that the reason for my exclusion could not be disclosed,” he writes.
He wrote to all key stakeholders expressing his displeasure about the process. When he got no response, he filed a case at the Industrial court Nakuru and obtained orders to suspend the recruitment process until the case was resolved.
He writes that the council ignored the order and proceeded with the interviews.
“Court orders in Kenya mean little or nothing if you are connected or in power. One of the three shortlisted candidates was eventually appointed VC. After reflection, I decided to drop the case to avoid appearing as though I was opposing the appointed VC, even though my lawyer believed we had a strong case especially since the university had ignored a court order,” writes Prof Njenga.
He states that as the case went on, he was summoned by the council and asked to step aside. He was asked to take a compulsory leave because, in the council’s eyes, they couldn’t work together after he had sued them. He, however, demanded a formal letter to explain why he was “being forced to go on leave”.
“No such letter was ever issued, and I remained in office until the end of my term,” he writes.
Later the council changed his office title from “Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance” to “Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Planning and Development”.
This, in effect, meant he could not renew his term because there was no office to continue serving in.
“The new position was advertised and although I applied, I knew I would not be shortlisted,” writes Prof Njenga.
His contract as DVC ended in October 2012. Some of the fixes he made, he writes, were undone not too long after he left.
“By 2018, Ngongogeri Farm had once again become a complete failure. The land lay uncultivated, and parts had been allocated to outsiders. The machinery was abandoned and all poultry, greenhouse and horticultural operations had ceased. It was a truly dismal situation. In 2023, the government advertised part of the farm for lease to interested farmers,” he writes.
The Auditor-General’s report for 2025 confirms that the management of the farms has not improved.
“Available information revealed that the unknown individuals ploughed the land with a total acreage of 1,500 acres, in March, 2024 and August, 2024 and a report was made to the Njoro Police Station and OB. No.50/30/09/2024 was issued. In September, 2024, the Vice Chancellor wrote to the Principal Secretary, State Department for Higher Education requesting for Government intervention in security concerns at the land in question. Management did not provide the land lease agreements between the university and the private investor for audit verification,” said the Auditor-General.
“Management has not provided any report from the security organs including the National Police Service indicating what security measures are being taken to address the illegal occupation of the University’s land. In the circumstances, there is a risk of the university losing the parcel of land measuring 1,500 acres to illegal settlers or parties,” it adds.
Zetech University Vice Chancellor Prof Njenga Munene when he appeared before the Public Investment Committee on Education and Governance at the Parliament Buildings Nairobi on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
Prof Njenga’s analysis of the university’s financial situation refers to the baobab analogy he was given at the interview.
“Egerton went through a full circle: from debts in 2011, to financial health, and back to an even deeper financial crisis by 2022, with reports indicating a Sh10 billion debt. Indeed, the baobab tree had fallen.”
Since March 2018, Prof Njenga has been the vice chancellor of Zetech University. He started his career as a lecturer at his alma mater, the University of Nairobi (UoN), from where he had obtained a degree in veterinary medicine in 1984. He started off as a tutorial fellow, later becoming the dean of the UoN’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. He became a full professor while at Egerton.
Prof Njenga, who turns 68 in October 2026, was once interested in becoming a lawyer but his stepmother thought he was too much of a truthful man.
“You’re too honest, and I don’t think you’ll fit in legal practice where circumstances force lawyers to be dishonest when defending their clients,” he recalls his stepmother, Ann Gathoni Mundia, telling him.
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