Mystery as Prof Stephen Kiama back at helm of UoN
The University of Nairobi Vice-chancellor, Prof Stephen Kiama. He has cut short his leave.
The vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi, Prof Stephen Kiama, has reported back to his office, just a month after he took a six-month leave.
In the surprise move, Prof Kiama on Friday tweeted on his official handle: “Well Rested and Rejuvenated. Back to Work!”
He applied for leave on July 28, 2023 at started the break on August 1, 2023, saying he needed to exhaust his accumulated leave days before the end of his contract.
“I plan to take annual leave for a period of six months, extendable. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission, in a letter addressed to all chairpersons of public universities councils/constituent colleges, recently advised that leave days shall not be commuted to cash. Advisories from the SRC are binding to all public officers. For this reason, I need to clear all my leave day[sic] before the end of my contract as vice chancellor. I have no intention of presenting my name for consideration for another term,” he wrote.
He said that he had not taken annual leave since his appointment as VC on January 6, 2020 “because of the heavy demands of the office”.
“This has resulted in my accumulating annual leave days that will be impossible to exhaust if I do not proceed on leave as requested. I will be available for consultation if required,” his letter read.
He went ahead to recommend Prof Julius Ogeng’o, the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs, to act as VC. The council appointed him and he has been acting in the role until Thursday.
However, it later emerged that there were differences between Prof Kiama and the council chaired by Prof Amukowa Anangwe which was appointed in May following the disbandment of the earlier month barely a year into office.
“I know where we want to go but I saw some governance issues which will not take us there. If it’s affected, it can’t be the university it is. Let all of us think about the institution we want,” Prof Kiama told the Nation at the moment without going into details only, saying a shorter leave could not resolve those issues.
"We can’t afford people keeping you busy with other mundane things and then they measure your performance based on those things. I requested for leave so that I have time to reflect."
Reached for a comment on the comeback by the Nation , Prof Kiama said he would get in touch when he finds time.
