Delay appointing a substantive Vice Chancellor at the MultiMedia University (MMU) is raising concerns among the stakeholders. The stakeholders including the UASU officials have raised a red flag requesting the education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu appoint substantive Vice Chancellor to replace Prof Feustus Kaberia who retired in January.
MMU’s Chapter UASU Secretary General Onesmus Mutio said the delay to appoint a substantive VC was suspicious despite the Public Service Commission (PSC) ranking of the potential candidates after they were interviewed six months ago.
The stakeholders alleged the appointment process was delayed after it was hijacked by the political class interested to place their pointmen at the leadership of the university.
In the PSC ranking list of the candidates seen by the Standard, the 11 candidates who were interviewed are Prof Nyaga Mbatia, Prof Benard Moirongo, Prof Mary Abuktsa Onyango, Prof Francis Nyamu Wachira, Prof Rosebella Maranga and Prof Godfrey Mse. Others who were interviewed are Prof Joseph Chacha, Prof Joseph Kiplangat, Prof Joseph Bosire, Prof Peter Mwita and Prof Mary J. Kipsat.
In the interviews conducted by the PSC, Mutio said, 41 candidates applied for the VC slot, where only 11 were shortlisted for the interview sessions that were done in December last year. “Of concern, six months after the interviews were concluded and the ranking list sent to the university council the new holder of the VC has not been appointed,” said Mutio.
UASU, Mutio said, wrote to the Head of Public Service Mr Felix Koskei in January highlighting the irregularities in the appointment process, thus promised to investigate the concerns. An education consultant Mr Charles Njoroge says MMU has challenges that need to be resolved due to delay in the appointment of a new council as the outgoing one tenure lapsed in October last year.
The consultant emphasised the illegalities surrounding the leadership at the institution need to be streamlined to avoid aggrieved parties from challenging the process. Njoroge, a resident of Kajiado says Machogu should rise to the occasion and end the concerns to save the institution leadership from continuing suffering due to lack of defined leadership.
“The university has been operating with an incomplete council as it lacks a substantive chairman as the holder is operating in acting capacity,” said Njoroge.
Njoroge adds that the investigating agencies should investigate the claims of tribalism with one candidate favoured based on the tribe. “There are speculations that one candidate is out rightly favoured on the basis of tribe and that the original PSC ranking has been ‘doctored’ to re-rank the said candidate as number one,” said Njoroge.
Julius Mogire Gichana, a legal expert said the appointing authority should effectively engage all the key stakeholders to pre-empt legal battles that could disrupt the current stability and smooth transition at the institution. He cited an employment court judgement last month nullifying the appointment of David Nyamboso Nyandoro as the Chief Land Registrar by Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir after it was challenged.
The court, he said, upheld the decision of the PSC that ranked Peter Mburu Ng’ang’a high ” Let no mistake occur as it will be an embarrassment, if one party moves to court to challenge” said Gichana.