Prof Stephen Gitahi Kiama.
Prof Stephen Kiama has appealed against his sacking as vice-chancellor and employee of the University of Nairobi (UoN), saying the process was unfair.
In an exclusive interview with Nation, Prof Kiama confirmed that he had been informed of his sacking as both an employee of the university and as the VC.
His contract as head of Kenya’s premier university was scheduled to expire on January 6, 2025, and had requested for reappointment.
The chair of the University Council, Prof Amukowa Anangwe, issued a communication dated October 14, 2024 to the university community indicating that Prof Kiama’s services “as an employee of the UoN” had been terminated on September 27, 2024.
However, the website of the vice-chancellor of the university still has him listed as the eighth VC of the institution.
Prof Margaret Jesang Hutchinson has been acting as VC since August.
“They (the council) asked me to go for what they called a disciplinary hearing on September 27, 2024. In my view, they had a pre-determined verdict because they have wanted to get rid of me since they came into office. They communicated the decision even before I got home through a letter on email and also a physical one. I appealed through the chair and said it’s an unfair process but the chair hasn’t called me or responded,” Prof Kiama said.
He revealed that he was accused of “not cooperating with the council”.
“It’s a case of ‘I don’t like your face’ but what can you do about it? They have shown a lot of hostility [towards me] whose cause I can’t tell,” he said.
The council of the university had on August 3, 2024 suspended Prof Kiama for three months, the fourth time to do so in a year.
At the time, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is undergoing his own problems as his removal from office through impeachment hangs over his head, came to his defence, accusing the council of harassing the VC.
“When I defend our people, I’m called a tribalist. Prof Kiama has been harassed by the chairman (Prof Anangwe). Since he was appointed chairman, Prof Kiama has never known peace. If there’s a public university in Kenya that’s run without any trouble, it’s the UoN but the VC is being harassed. They even took goons to evict him,” Mr Gachagua said.
“I’ll do further consultation and see what to do next. The courts are open, and that’s why they exist, but I’m not there yet,” he said.
He faulted the council for terminating his employment as a lecturer at the university where he has served since 1990.
“That’s unheard of because those are two different contracts [as lecturer and as VC] and there was no accusation against me that I had failed in my duties as a lecturer. I’ve served the university with distinction since 1990 and was only away when doing my PhD. I have another 10 years to retirement,” Prof Kiama told Nation.
He revealed that the council told him to clear from the university immediately but he has not done so yet.
On whether he will apply for consideration once the position is advertised, he said that he does not need to since as serving VC, he only needed a review.
On July 4, 2024, Prof Kiama wrote to the council requesting an appointment for a second term as VC.
In his letter, he listed his achievements, including increasing external research grants from Sh1.9 billion when he took over in 2019 to Sh4.8 billion.
By the time of publishing this story, Prof Anangwe had not responded to our calls or questions sent to his phone number as well as WhatsApp.
