The entrance to the University of Nairobi, main campus.
A recent flurry of letters and memos from the Cabinet Secretary for Education, the top leadership at the University of Nairobi, the anti-corruption body, and the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) paints a gloomy picture of the turmoil the institution finds itself in.
On Thursday, officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) searched the office and home of the acting Chief Operations Officer and Director of University Advancement and Institutional Development, Brian Ouma, as they investigate various issues plaguing Kenya’s premier institution.
“The search has yielded significant evidential material, which will aid the Commission in advancing the investigations into this matter. EACC is also investigating several other high-value scandals within the University of Nairobi,” the Commission said in a statement.
An officer at the Commission told Saturday Nation that Mr Ouma was not arrested but “he was escorted to our offices for statement recording”. The EACC says he is being investigated over alleged unexplained personal benefits totalling Sh12 million, received between 2019 and 2024, without supporting documentation to justify the payments.
Adequate notice
The operation at Mr Ouma’s home and office came a day after EACC Deputy Director (Investigation), Hassan Khalid, wrote to the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Margaret Hutchinson, requesting members of the University Council to report to the Commission on April 2025 24, to record statements.
Prof Hutchinson subsequently informed the Chair of the Council, Prof Amukowa Anangwe, of the summons, to which he replied the same day, arguing that the notice was too short.
“The council members have requested adequate notice of not less than 14 days, in the interest of fair administrative practice and to be meaningfully responsive to the interviews,” reads Prof Anangwe’s reply.
Saturday Nation has confirmed that the members of the Council did not turn up at Integrity Centre. Alongside Prof Hutchinson and Prof Anangwe, the other members of the Council summoned are Dr Parmain ole-Narikae, Dr Kenrick Ayot, Joel Kibe, Carren Omwenga, and Ahmed Sheikh Abdullahi. The Council members are also under investigation for receiving irregular personal payments from the university.
According to the EACC, other scandals under investigation include abuse of office and embezzlement of public funds involving irregular leases issued on university-owned land and procurement irregularities related to the stalled construction of the Engineering and Science Complex. Over Sh100 million was spent largely on allowances and feasibility studies, with no tangible work on site.
The anti-graft agency is also investigating unexplained payments totalling Sh76 million by the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences to Direct Service Providers (DSPs) and university staff as allowances over four years.
The entrance to the University of Nairobi.
In yet another letter dated April 23, 2025, Mr Khalid asks Prof Hutchinson to provide the Commission with original documents of payments to top Council members from 2022 to 2024, as well as minutes of Council meetings and their attendance register.
Earlier this month, the EACC had asked the Acting VC to provide documentation of properties owned by the university that have allegedly been acquired or leased to individuals. These include 10 acres at Kanyariri Farm, 40 acres behind ANP hostels in Loresho, 100 acres at Kibwezi Field Station, and 20 acres leased to Shamba Cafe Hotel in Loresho Ridge, Nairobi. Others are six acres next to Dusit Hotel and a parcel in Spring Valley near a shopping centre.
Meanwhile, a showdown was looming ahead of a Council meeting scheduled for yesterday called by Prof Anangwe, which UASU officials vowed to disrupt.
Turf wars
Prof Hutchinson has also written to Prof Anangwe advising against holding the meeting while the EACC is investigating members of the Council. The VC is usually the Secretary to the Council and issues notices for meetings.
The CS for Education, Julius Ogamba, has also been drawn into the turf wars at the UoN. He has twice unsuccessfully revoked appointments to the Council, with the courts granting temporary relief on both occasions — the latest being this week.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba at a past function in Nairobi.
The CS has also advised the Council not to hold any more meetings, since the Auditor-General has flagged the irregular meetings which have exceeded the number allowed in the university charter. The Chair of the Council was seeking permission for a special meeting.
“We have noted the contents of the Auditor-General’s report on the University of Nairobi for the year ended 30 June 2024, which outlined various irregularities in Council expenses for the period under review. In light of the reported irregularities, we are unable to approve the proposed special meeting, pending further review and investigation. The Council will be advised appropriately once the review is complete,” reads the letter to Prof Anangwe dated 1 April 2025.
On Thursday, UASU (UoN Chapter) also called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to look into the goings-on at the university.
“We demand an investigation into the University Council’s overreach in the discharge of its duties. These include the bizarre and irregular direct operational involvement in staff transfers, vindictive suspensions, and patronage-driven contract extensions. This overreach has disregarded the established separation of powers between the Council and the accounting officer — the vice-chancellor. This has led to the erosion of merit at the University, resulting in the worst apathy in staff motivation ever witnessed at the University of Nairobi,” said Dr Maloba Wekesa, the Chapter Secretary, during a press conference yesterday.
The university does not currently have a substantive vice-chancellor. The Public Service Commission conducted interviews for the position last month, but the Council has not yet made an appointment.
dmuchunguh@ke.nationmedia.com
