Two former Kenyatta University students have filed a court petition seeking to force Vice Chancellor Paul Wainaina to take his terminal leave before his term ends next month.
The petitioners, Elizabeth Chesang and Rosemary Gichuhi, represented by lawyer Odhiambo Ouma, accuse Prof Wainaina of nepotism, claiming he has dismissed office holders with valid tenure and replaced them with relatives and close associates.
Filed under a certificate of urgency, the petition argues that the VC has used his final six months in office to make decisions that breach principles of good governance. Justice Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has certified the matter as urgent and ordered that all parties be served ahead of the hearing scheduled for December 16.
“The court has considered the nature of the application and the materials filed and direct that the same be served forthwith today for inter parties hearing on December 16,” Justice Ongaya said.
With his non-renewable term set to expire in January 2026, the petitioners claim Prof Wainaina has been making “midnight decisions” that violate constitutional principles and public policy. They further contend that he has ignored the Mwongozo Code of Governance for State Corporations, which applies to public universities and prohibits a chief executive from participating in the recruitment of their successor to avoid conflicts of interest.
The petitioners allege that Prof Wainaina unilaterally formed a committee to draft recruitment criteria for the next vice chancellor and has repeatedly interfered with the statutory mandate of the University Council.
“There is real danger that unless the honourable court urgently hears and determines the petition, the mismanagement afore stated will continue unabated and expose the university to a management crisis that is likely to erode its status and relegate the institution into the pool of failed universities,” the petitioners stated in their affidavits.
Among the accusations, Prof Wainaina is said to have unlawfully revoked the appointments of several senior officials, including the Director of City Campus, the Dean of the Graduate School, and multiple registrars, replacing them with relatives and close associates despite their contracts still being valid.
The petition specifically names his son, Jasan Mwirigi Kuria, daughter-in-law Mercy Cherotich, and a relative, Lawrence Kamau Njau, as beneficiaries of these recent promotions.
The petition also challenges Wainaina’s extension of Professor Paul Owuor Okemo’s term as Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance beyond the legally permitted six months.
According to the petitioners, these actions have sparked a governance crisis that led to the resignations of University Council chairman Ben Chumo and the council’s Human Resource Committee chairperson, leaving the council improperly constituted.
In her affidavit, Chesang framed the request within broader governance concerns, stating that terminal leave is mandatory in state corporations, ministries, and universities to prevent “lame-duck opportunism and midnight governance” and to allow for a smooth and impartial transition.
The petitioners are seeking multiple orders from the court, including compelling Prof Wainaina to immediately take terminal leave, temporarily halting all appointments and revocations made in the past six months, and revoking the extended appointment of the acting Deputy Vice Chancellor.
