Inside land saga that cost KU Vice Chancellor his job

Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Paul Wainaina now says the push to remove him from office was triggered by his reluctance to cede the title deed of KU land to the Ministry of Health.

His sentiments comes after Secretary to the Cabinet Joseph Kinyua ordered the Vice-Chancellor to surrender the university’s title deed.

This was after a row between the institution and its affiliate referral hospital ensued over the ownership of a 1,000-acre piece of land.

Addressing staff at the university yesterday, Wainaina addressed the University staff telling them “This is probably the last time you’ll see me addressing you as VC.”

While addressing the staff, Wainaina took the opportunity to explain that he first got wind of the State’s plan to allocate a piece of land owned by the University to the Ministry of Health (MoH) via a letter that was addressed to him by the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua on July 5, 2022.

His narration comes just days after President Uhuru Kenyatta castigated the university management for opposing plans to cede part of the learning institution’s land to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is setting up a Sh600 million emergency hub to cater for its regional operations

President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that his administration would ‘swiftly deal’ with a number of officials at the university who were allegedly refusing to hand over the contentious parcel of land to the government.

According to information in the public domain, thirty acres of land had been set aside by the Cabinet for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to establish a Sh600 million hub on the grounds adjacent to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRH).

Another 10 acres were to be allocated to the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention with the Cabinet likewise allocating 108 acres to KUTRH while 190 acres were reserved to settle squatters from Kamae settlement scheme.