Several universities offering law programmes are currently operating without renewed licences after their approvals expired in December, according to a notice issued by the Council for Legal Education.
The affected institutions include the University of Nairobi and Moi University, whose applications for renewal are still being reviewed by the regulator.
The Council said the licences for the University of Nairobi Faculty of Law in Parklands and the Moi University School of Law in Eldoret lapsed on December 10 2025.
Both universities submitted their renewal applications in November and are awaiting audits and inspections before fresh approvals can be issued.
“Institution (UoN) applied for renewal on November 14 2025. Application for renewal of licence under review. Pending audit and inspection by the Council,” reads part of the public notice signed by CLE Chief Executive Officer Prof Jack Mwimali and dated December 31 2025.
Chuka University is the third public university whose licence to offer law programmes expired on the same date. Although the institution paid for the renewal of its licence in April last year, the Council said it has not yet submitted the required documents to complete the application process.
Two private universities in Kajiado County are also yet to secure renewed licences. African Nazarene University applied for renewal on November 17 2025, while UMMA University submitted its application earlier on September 18 2025.
The Council said African Nazarene’s application is still under review pending an audit, while UMMA University is scheduled for inspection on January 20.
The notice, published in this week’s MyGov edition, also outlined institutions that are fully compliant across various levels of legal education. Four universities are licensed to offer Master of Laws programmes.
These are Mt Kenya University, the Catholic University of East Africa, Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, and Strathmore School of Law.
For Diploma in Law programmes, four institutions hold valid licences. These include the Kenya School of Law, Kisii University, the Catholic University of East Africa, and Mt Kenya University.
The Council further listed sixteen institutions that have met all requirements to offer Bachelor of Laws degrees in Kenya. They include Egerton University, Kabarak University, the Catholic University of East Africa, Strathmore University, Maseno University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, Riara University, Kenyatta University, South Eastern University of Kenya in Kitui, Daystar University, the University of Embu, Kisii University, Mt Kenya University, Zetech University in Thika, Tom Mboya University in Homabay, and Tharaka University.
Under the Legal Education Act, the Council for Legal Education is required to license institutions offering legal training and to publish the list of compliant schools in the Kenya Gazette and at least one national daily.
