Egerton University.
On March 15, 2024, Egerton University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Isaac Kibwage received three unwelcome visitors at the main campus in Njoro, Nakuru County.
They were led by a Mr Bernard Odote who identified himself as the managing director of a company called Cropsoko, and they had come armed with a “partnership for commercial maize production.”
The visit came as a surprise, as the three had invaded university land with several tractors three days earlier and started working on it, triggering protests among locals.
“On March 15, 2024 a company identified as Cropsoko through the managing director Mr Bernard Odote came to the university but did not have any letter of introduction from the Ministry of Education but gave an unreferenced letter dated February 19, 2024 presenting an offer on the would-be partnership in commercial maize production.
“The said three persons, it was reported, were seen at the said farm with several tractors working on the land,” the university now says in a statement signed by the VC, dated August 27, 2025.
This marked the beginning of what would be a year of fights for a 2,000-acre land the university owns in Ngongogeri, Njoro, as the company dispatched goons to commandeer tilling and planting, even at night.
A portion of the 1,136 acres of land in Njoro, Nakuru County, that once belonged to Egerton University, as pictured on February 28, 2023. The land is now in the hands of private developers, with the EACC fighting to reclaim it.
By the time Cropsoko harvested wheat it had planted in January last year, the university had lost Sh24 million in potential revenues, even as details of whoever backed it remained a puzzle.
In a fresh Auditor-General’s report currently before the National Assembly, Prof Kibwage has revealed details of the company that took the university land hostage for a year, with the name of Nairobi-based businessman, Bernard Odote featuring prominently.
The VC has revealed how desperate attempts by Njoro residents to prevent Cropsoko from illegally farming the university land flopped, and how the university’s cry for help from local police and top ministry officials were ignored.
A Presidential directive
It all started with a Presidential directive communicated to the university through the Ministry of Education in February 2024, Prof Kibwage says in the disclosures to MPs.
“The VC received a letter from the Cabinet Secretary (CS), Ministry of Education Ref: MOE/SDHER/CON/2/17 dated February 16, 2024, communicating the Presidential Directive,” Prof Kibwage said.
He noted that following the Presidential directive for the university to identify land to be used for national food security purposes, the council met on February 28, 2024 and identified 550 acres (440 in Mpeketoni and 140 at Ngongogeri Farm, Njoro County).
The VC then communicated the resolution to then Education CS Ezekiel Machogu the same day.
Ezekiel Machogu.
It would appear that the CS pushed back at the university to change the location and size of the land it had offered, since the council convened “a further special meeting” the following day to reconsider its earlier approval.
“The council convened a further special meeting held on Thursday February 29, 2024 to reconsider its earlier approval following a clarification by the CS on the decision taken and consequently 2000 acres of land in Ngongogeri Farm was set aside for the National food security,” the VC said.
However, as the university waited for further directives from the ministry, the men from Cropsoko came in and started tilling the land two weeks later.
By the time the university realized it would be difficult to engage with “the alleged strategic partner” without a clear proposal and wrote to the ministry in April 2024, Cropsoko had already prepared about 1000 acres of the land for planting.
The university tried seeking consent to lease out the land from the National Land Commission (NLC) and sent a letter seeking for a list of prequalified suppliers to the Ministry of Agriculture through the Ministry of Education.
“As the paper work was being undertaken for the procurement process, we learnt that Cropsoko had returned to the farm, without letting the university know of their intentions and without any lease agreement allowing them possession of the land and continued with the land preparation and thereafter planted wheat despite verbal instructions to them by the farm management,” the university revealed.
Curiously too, as the university commenced procurement process for proper leasing out of the land “the tender was recommended for termination.”
After succeeding to plant the wheat on the 1000 acres, the company’s agents were seen tilling the remaining portion of land at night in August.
“We learnt that agents of Cropsoko were seen at the farm on the night of August 28, 2024 from 7.30 pm tilling the remaining portion of the land that had not been cultivated,” the VC says.
Reports made at Njoro Police Station appear not to have been acted upon, with the VC statement last August still indicating that police maintained that investigations were ongoing.
Shell company?
Cropsoko Technologies Ltd, the company at the heart of the Egerton land scandal, presents itself as an “agri-tech platform that connects smallholder farmers to formal functioning markets”. Its ownership, however, is a puzzle at best.
Records at the company registry show that it was established in September 2022 and had only one director, Levi Wangila Chikombe, by April 23, 2026.
Mr Chikombe did not respond to questions sent to him since last week, mainly to explain the company’s experience in the magnitude of project the government wanted for national food security, having been founded slightly over a year prior to February 2024.
At the company’s website, Mr Chikombe is listed as the Chief Executive officer (CEO).
In the report before parliament, however, Prof Kibwage says Mr Odote presented himself as the company’s Managing Director at the university in March 2024.
Cropsoko also appears in the list of companies under the “Odote Group”, alongside House of Procurement, Powercom Africa, Homeboyz Entertainment and 28 others.
At professional networking platform, The Org, Mr Odote is listed as Group Managing Director of Cropsoko, alongside the other companies under The Odote Group.
When the Nation first sought Mr Odote’s response through a phone number registered under him at the registrar of companies, a man identifying himself as Emmanuel Juma responded indicating that he is his driver and aide.
“All matters Cropsoko ask Levi. He (Odote) is in Turkey, I doubt if he is interested in matters for a third-party organization,” Mr Juma said on Tuesday at 9am.
About three-and-a-half hours later, Mr Odote called.
“Kwani are you not aware of the statute of limitations, if someone committed a crime 10 years ago, you can’t go suing him now,” he said in a phone call.
He then proceeded to threaten suing the university and accusing unnamed individuals of holding ownership documents to the disputed land.
Mr Odote said he is no longer associated with Cropsoko, referring the Nation to Levi Chikombe.
Egerton University Njoro Campus main gate.
Troubled land
The land has been a sensitive subject in the area and locals have been aware of it, since there have been reported cases of attempts at grabbing it.
Currently, there exists four cases touching on the land before the Nakuru Environment Land Court, one between Kipruto Kemboi and the university, EACC vs Kipruto Kemboi & another, Moses Owino Odhiambo vs Robert Gesimba, and Moses Owino vs County Government of Nakuru, Egerton University, Cropsoko & Timtech Engineering.
In her report for the year ending June 2025, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said the university lost over Sh24 million.
“Management explained that the University and a representative of the company that had irregularly cultivated the land, met in November 2024 and the company undertook and agreed to calculate the costs of production for the wheat, yield to be harvested, net profit and sharing of profit after harvest at a ratio of 50.50.
“However, the company harvested the wheat in January 2025 and did not honor the earlier agreement thereby occasioning a loss to the university which was valued at Sh24,189,987 as per the University's records,” Ms Gathungu said.
The public auditor also noted that the vice-chancellor made distress calls to the Higher Education Principal Secretary in September 2024 and to the Ministry of Education in January and March last year seeking interventions on the issue.
“As at the time of the audit in September 2025 the Ministry had not provided the way forward on the matter and available information indicated that the land had been encroached and irregularly occupied by illegal and armed settlers who could not allow the University to make use of its land,” Ms Gathungu said.
Education CS Julius Ogamba, when he appeared before MPs during the 2026 Legislative Retreat for Members of the National Assembly, at Lake Naivasha Resort in Naivasha, Nakuru County, on January 28, 2026.
Education CS Julius Ogamba did not respond to questions seeking clarifications on current status of the land, the role the ministry played when Cropsoko entered into the land and why it was allowed to farm on it without a proper lease.
We have the land back - VC
Prof Kibwage on Monday was cagey when reached for comment on phone, but said the university last year took back possession of the land after holding back “goons” sent by the company.
“It was a case of some people making local arrangements and bypassing legal requirements that would allow ministry of land to approve proper leasing. We have planted maize on 700 acres, which will be ready for harvest in about three months,” the VC told the Nation.
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