Leadership at the University of Nairobi remained in disarray after the premature return of vice chancellor Stephen Kiama from six-month leave while the council-backed replacement acting VC Julius Ogeng’o was still in office. Ogeng’o is DVC Academic.
VC Julius Ogeng’o
Weekly Citizen has established that Kiama’s return had the blessings of deputy president Rigathi Gachagua. Kiama from Nyeri, just like Gachagua, met at the DP’s office where it emerged that concerns were emerging in Central Kenya Ruto’s regime was haunting out of office those seen to have been sympathetic to Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime but were being replaced by none Kikuyus. For Kiama, it was said that a Kalenjin, Margaret Jesang Hutchinson, DVC Finance, Planning and Development was to replace him.
Margaret Jesang Hutchinson
Kiama has no time for Prof Hutchings who the embattled VC claims is not a force to reckon with in management and survives on politics and gossip.
At the meeting, the issue of tribalism and allocation of public university top positions emerged with claims that for years, UoN has been controlled by the Kikuyu community. Examples were given of who is controlling public universities in Kalenjin, Luo, Luhya and Gusii regions.
After listening, Rigathi is said to have immediately started to act. In Kikuyu language, he told Kiama to report immediately as the community has also shares in the government compared to Luhyas who have very little. Prof Ogeng’o is a Luhya from Busia.
Weekly Citizen has information several camps have emerged at the institution in what has taken a political angle.
Kiama requested the council to grant him leave in early August up to the end of January 2024. In his place, Ogeng’o, the deputy VC in charge of Academics, was appointed to act.
Prof Kiama says he is still in charge even when on leave and reserved the right to get back to work at any time so long as his contract was still in force.
Council chairperson Amukowa Anang’we is a Luhya. Others on the council are Caren Omwenga, Parmain Ole Narikae, Sally Toroitich, Ahmed Adullahi, Samuel Kiiru (representing PS. The National Treasury), Beatrice Inyangala (representing PS. Ministry of Education) and Kiama (VC/ secretary of the board).
Questions emerged over the contents of the letter written by Prof Kiama and which did not make reference to his pending leave days. Requesting for leave, in his letter dated July 28 2023, Kiama said: “I wish to request annual leave from August 1 2023 in order to exhaust all my accumulated leave days before the end of my contract”.
But in his letter dated August 31 to the council, Kiama said: “The issues that unfortunately led me to seek leave, including some issues of personal health, have now thankfully been resolved, and I am now able to return reenergised to immediately resume my duties as vice chancellor with effect from Friday September 1 2023”.
The letter is copied to DP Gachagua, prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, Chief-of-Staff Felix Koskei, Higher Education PS Beatrice Inyangala and Ogeng’o. The question being why it was also copied to Gachagua first.
Insiders say Machogu was behind the removal of Kiama by the council after briefs from Inyangala also said to be at war with Kiama.
