Prof Noah Midamba is sworn-in by Petronila Chepkwony, Senior Legal Officer of Moi University in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County, as the new Council Chairman on January 22, 2025.
The newly inaugurated Moi University council members have their job cut out as they assume office to salvage the university troubled by years of instability attributed to governance and leadership challenges.
As a statement of intent that it will not be business as usual, the council last week sent on compulsory leave the vice-chancellor, Prof Isaac Sanga Kosgey, and two deputy vice-chancellors as it embarks on the mandate of rescuing the university as instructed by the government.
While Prof Kosgey was been asked to proceed on compulsory annual leave for an accumulated 180 days, his two DVCs, Prof Isaac Njuguna Kimengi (academic affairs) and Prof Kirimi H Kiriamiti (administration, planning and research) were sent on a compulsory one-year sabbatical leave.
“Leadership and governance issues necessitated the appointment of a new council to steer this university. It is now the responsibility of the new team to put in place sustainable strategies to ensure that the institution regains its glory before it started experiencing the challenges it is undergoing,” said Julius Ogamba, the Cabinet Secretary for Education when he witnessed the swearing-in and inauguration of the new council.
Senior legal officer Ms Patrolina Chepkwony and acting chief finance officer Joshua Koech have been asked to step down in anticipated further changes in the management of the troubled institution.
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be addressing you today – had everything in the administration of this university gone on smoothly as expected. Indeed, this is an unusual event, forced upon us by the need to ensure that we restore order and normal running of this gargantuan university, after months of instability due to governance and leadership issues that threatened to plunge the institution into despondency,” said CS Ogamba during the swearing-in ceremony.
He disclosed commitment by the government to restore the glory of the university as a beacon of academic excellence and innovation.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba (centre), Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala and Kesses MP Julius Ruto (left) during the Inauguration of the new Moi University Council in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County on January 22, 2025.
“We had to take bold and decisive step to cut short the term of the former council and with the new team, I have no doubt that the university will break from the past and look to the future with much more confidence in pursuit of excellence,” added Mr Ogamba.
The CS and the Principal Secretary for Higher Education Beatrice Inyangala were back at the university after having presided over a return-to-work formula between the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu), Kenya University Staff Union (Kusu) and the management in November 2024. This ended a strike that had disrupted learning at the university for more than three months.
In the recent changes, Mr Ogamba revoked the appointment of Dr Humphrey Kimani Njuguna as chair of the council, less than a month after President William Ruto promised to constituent a committee to evaluate scale of the crisis facing the university and recommend long-lasting solutions.
Other members of the council whose appointments were cancelled include Prof Clara Samiji Momanyi, Christopher Khaemba, Eusilah Jepkosgei Ngeny and Susan Amlango Aletia.
The new council comprises academicians, advocates and professionals with vast experience in management.
The chairperson is Prof Noah Midamba while other members are Prof Ronald Wasike, Dr Mercy Nyambura Kanyara, Dr Edwin Sambili and Anne Weceke Makori.
Prof Midamba is a former vice-chancellor of the KCA University. He was at the helm of the institution for more than 10 years. In 2014, he won the International Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education by the Advisory Council of World Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors Congress in India for his role in Kenya and Africa.
Before joining KCA, Prof Midamba served as the CEO and senior partner at US-based International Education and Consulting Services.
The term of the previous council was cut short following long-drawn-out workers’ protests over their welfare and salaries. Students at the university have also been affected, with thousands of them having delayed completion of their studies.
Among the reforms that await the new council include imparting confidence in pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, teaching, and community service.
“Your work, I must warn, will not be a bed of roses. You must steer this great institution toward greater heights, ensuring that it continues to fulfill its mission of producing graduates who are not only well-trained but are also socially responsible to contribute to the development of our nation,” said Mr Ogamba.
According to him, a new council will also be installed at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) as part of the plans to resolve management crises facing universities in the country.
He disclosed that medical students who have been at the university for more than nine years will graduate in March this year.
“We will not sit back and watch universities crumble down due to bad leadership and the new council members have a responsibility of restoring confidence in the students and staff who have been affected by crisis at the university,” added Mr Ogamba.
“We will no longer entertain laxity in the administration of our universities. There is no university that can survive if it cannot cut a niche for itself and that is what we are determined to achieve,” said Mr Ogamba.
He tasked the new council members to prioritise staff welfare and develop a conducive working environment to propel the revival of the university.
Dr Inyangala said the government will monitor progress at Moi University and other learning institutions to ensure quality education. The new council chair, Prof Midamba, assured the government of his commitment to reform the university based on his vast management knowledge.
“I have what it takes to reform and redeem Moi University. We must write the future of this great institution ourselves, rather than letting it be written for us,” said Prof Midamba.
The council members warned that tough decisions will be made in the revitalisation of the cash-strapped institution.
“When we are discussing about salaries in the second oldest university in Kenya, I think something really went wrong and we must apologise to ourselves and Kenyans,” said Prof Wasike.
Prof Wasike did both his undergraduate and post-graduate medical studies at the University of Nairobi Medical School. He studied clinical fellowship in breast surgery at the University of Alberta in Western Canada.
Dr Edward Sambili is an academician who served as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of State for Planning and National Development. He is a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Kenya and the founding chairman and the brains behind the establishment of Kabarak University.
Mr Busolo warned that the plans by the university to reduce the number of workers will attract another crisis. The workers through Kusu asked the new council to ensure timely disbursement of salaries to avert more strikes.
Kesses MP Julius Ruto promised to seek intervention from the government to ensure that the university is given more funding to meet immediate needs as it stabilises.
“As area MP, I will urge Parliament to inject more resources into Moi University to help in reviving it,” said Mr Ruto.
President Ruto while on a tour of Uasin Gishu County two weeks ago promised to overhaul the management of the university and allocate it adequate resources.
“We will put in place an efficient management team and allocate sufficient resources so that Moi University can thrive like other public universities,” said President Ruto.
The Ethics and Ant-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are probing financial and managerial mismanagement at the cash-strapped institution.
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