The main entrance to Kenyatta University along Thika Superhighway.
The High Court has postponed a ruling on the fate of Kenyatta University vice chancellor Prof Paul Wainaina to Thursday, even as the leadership crisis at the institution drags on.
On Tuesday, the court was expected to decide a case in which Prof Wainaina is attempting to block the university council from replacing him as VC, arguing that his contract has not expired.
The temporary contract for acting VC Prof Waceke Wanjohi is set to expire on April 14, 2025, before the court determines the pending case. She was appointed to act as VC when the council sent Prof Wainaina on leave to exhaust his accumulated leave days.
A letter seen by the Nation indicated that Prof Wainaina's initial contract ran from 2018 to 2023 and was later renewed for three years, ending in 2026 and was not subject to his age.
Last week there was confusion at meeting between the Public Investments Committee of the National Assembly and the management of KU after both Prof Wainaina and Prof Waceke showed up.
Their appearance exposed leadership wrangles at the university, prompting the committee to call off the meeting.
"We need a special sitting where the management will come and explain what exactly is happening at Kenyatta University," said David Pkosing, the chair of the committee.
“It's a leadership black hole,” a senior official said. “We’re watching a power vacuum unfold in real-time.”
The university also does not have a functioning chapter of the Universities and Academic Staff Union (Uasu), after the national office disbanded it, leaving the academic staff without representation.
In March, the university council advertised the vice chancellor position and called for applications. It is then that Prof Wainaina filed the case before the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which has since suspended the recruitment process pending the final determination of the case.
Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Paul Wainaina addresses the institution’s staff members on July 12, 2022 shortly before he was suspended.
The crisis at KU has similarities with the University of Nairobi and Moi University which also do not have substantive VCs, following internal disputes and political interferences.
Prof Wainaina’s troubles began in 2022 when he was dismissed after his opposition to a government directive to allocate land for the World Health Organization’s African Hub, only for him to be reinstated three months later under the new administration.
While appearing before the Committee on Education of the National Assembly on March 19 2025, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba confessed that 23 public universities in the country are technically insolvent.
According to the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, the State Department for Higher Education and Research has requested to be allocated Sh6.48 billion, with an additional Sh9.63 billion in appropriations.
University education takes the lion’s share at Sh6.47 billion, while research, science, technology, and innovation receive a modest Sh20 million, despite an initial Sh558,250 cut.
Higher Education PS Dr Beatrice Inyangala appealed for additional resources to sustain vital programmes in the education sector.
“For us to keep these programmes running and ensure students complete their studies, we urgently need additional funding. Without this, the situation is dire,” Dr. Inyangala told the committee
