The University of Nairobi (UoN) is deeply divided and has endured a decade of turbulence, incoming vice-chancellor Prof Ayub Gitau has said, pledging to unite staff and restore the institution’s standing
Prof Gitau, who will be installed as the university’s ninth vice-chancellor on Friday, said the institution had reached “about our lowest point” but expressed confidence that it could recover within a year.
“Currently, the University of Nairobi is heavily divided. That’s a fact. In the last 10 years, I’ve seen a lot of turbulence,” Prof Gitau told the Nation on Thursday.
“I know within one year, we shall have brought all the staff together. And at that point when the staff are motivated, they give their best.”
The university, once the country’s leading institution in global rankings, has recently lost ground to rivals, including Kenyatta University (KU). In the Times Higher Education World University rankings for 2024 and 2025, KU ranked ahead of UoN in key areas.
KU also admitted the highest number of students from the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) cohort at 11,224, compared with UoN’s 8,604.
“At one point we even got a scare when we were told KU was number one and we were number two,” Prof Gitau said. “But I think it was just a one-off because after that, KU has gone back to where they belong.”
His priority, he said, is to restore UoN’s reputation and return it to its original brand as a leading research institution.
A statement from the institution said Prof Gitau was “expected to spearhead initiatives aimed at strengthening graduate employability, expanding research funding, deepening industry collaboration, advancing infrastructure modernisation, enhancing international visibility and reinforcing the university’s role in driving Kenya’s knowledge economy and sustainable development agenda”.
The statement added that he is only the second professor from UoN’s Faculty of Engineering to be appointed vice-chancellor after Prof Francis Gichaga.
“Like Prof Gichaga, Prof Gitau is widely known for his calm demeanour, consensus-building leadership and deep commitment to academic excellence and institutional development,” it noted.
Prof Gitau previously served as acting deputy vice-chancellor in charge of academic affairs and has held various leadership roles at the university for more than 15 years.
He has previously been the chairman of the Department of Environmental and Biosystems Engineering. Before he became the acting deputy vice chancellor, he was the dean of the School of Engineering.
The new VC said his first 100 days would focus on rebuilding relationships among staff, including through retreats and regular engagement despite financial constraints.
“The first and foremost thing is to bring the staff together. We have the best faculty in the region: highly experienced and highly trained,” Prof Gitau said.
“We have the goodwill, and I know they were excited when I was appointed the vice-chancellor,” he said. “That goodwill comes with a cost: you have to deliver.”
Besides unity, he also envisions an institution that minds the welfare of students better. He wants a university that supports learners “wholeheartedly”.
“These are the same students who are innovators. These are the same students who are entrepreneurs. Once they are given good support by the highly experienced staff, then we expect the turnaround to take place within a short while,” said Prof Gitau.
He also wants the university to increase its postgraduate population to strengthen research and innovation.
Currently, postgraduate students account for about 20 per cent of enrolment.
“Within the next five years, we should go to 30 per cent so that after 10 years, we are talking about 40 to 50 per cent,” he said.
Prof Gitau said the university would also focus on commercialising innovations and tapping its alumni network, which he estimated at more than 300,000 graduates.
“We have to think about our alumni. We are very rich in our alumni; over 300,000. They include the President and the who-is-who in the country,” he said.
He acknowledged challenges ahead, including staff welfare and pending collective bargaining agreements, but said he would work with unions and the government to address them.
“We are walking the journey together with the unions. Our expectation is that the government supports us wherever possible,” he said.
Prof Gitau, who has worked at UoN for more than two decades, said his appointment fulfilled a long-held ambition.
“I was moving and hoping that one day I would be the vice-chancellor of the University of Nairobi,” he said. “That dream has been there.”
In the weeks leading up to his installation, UoN promoted nine staffers to full professor ranks and eight to associate professor status, posting the promotions on its social media platforms. Prof Gitau told Nation that the promotions had been stuck and there was a backlog.
“The turbulence has also affected the council [that approves the promotions]. So, this has been pending,” said Prof Gitau. “That is one backlog we want to eliminate.”
Prof Gitau, who has been married for more than 35 years and has two daughters, turns 60 in October.
“It should be one of my most exciting birthdays,” he said.
