KU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wainaina Fired After Clash With Uhuru
Paul Wainaina, Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University, has been relieved of his duties.
Wainaina informed students that he had been forced to resign and the University Council had been dissolved due to his refusal to cede land for a World Health Organization project.
According to multiple reports, Prof. Wainana informed the university staff during a morning meeting on Tuesday, July 12, that he was stepping down as Vice-Chancellor.
This follows President Uhuru Kenyatta’s criticism of the university’s management for opposing plans to cede part of the institution’s land to the World Health Organization in order to build a Ksh600 million emergency hub to support its regional operations.
Kenyatta University had complained that the WHO emergency hub was to be built without its permission and that the 200 acres where the hub was to be built had already been set aside for other development projects.
President Kenyatta slammed those opposed to the WHO emergency hub project during its commissioning, claiming that the land belongs to Kenyans, not individuals.
“Kenya is a respected member of the global community and we are recognized as a very strong supporter of multinational institutions. We led UN-Habitat and UNEP and that is why we want WHO here,” Uhuru stated.
“You are claiming that this is your land yet this same land is owned by Kenyans. You want to hinder this project but I still have three more weeks in office, we shall deal with those individuals swiftly and effectively. I will go home with them,” he warned.
Kenyatta University (KU) and Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital (KUTRH) were at odds over ownership of the 1,000-acre plot of land.
The controversy stems from KUTRH’s apparent decision to divide 200 acres of the land in question in order to build WHO headquarters.
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Currently, WHO offices are housed within the walls of the referral hospital.
Prof Wainaina, who announced KU’s opposition to the project, stated that KUTRH failed to contact the university about the project’s use of 200 acres.
Prof Olive Mugenda, a former VC of KU, however, argued that the land in question belongs to the government.
KU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wainaina Fired After Clash With Uhuru