Ruto awards Kamagambo University letter of interim authority in Kisumu

The President said the university will create opportunities for young people in Migori County and the entire country to pursue higher education while training teachers, entrepreneurs and professionals needed to drive Kenya's transformation.

"We urge the university management and trustees to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity, sound governance, prudent stewardship and quality as the institution works towards attaining a full Charter," he said during the function at State Lodge Kisumu on Tuesday. 

To expand access to higher education, President Ruto pointed out that the Government is reforming student placement and financing at universities, technical colleges and the Kenya Medical Training College through the Tertiary Education, Placement and Funding Bill, 2026.

When the Bill becomes law, every qualified student will be able pursue higher education regardless of their background.

The President disclosed that very nation that has made a leap to prosperity has innovated and invented its way in laboratories, lecture halls and libraries built deliberately to turn knowledge into progress.

"That is what a university is for; not merely the certificates it awards, but the capacity it builds," he said stated. 

President Ruto explained that universities not only develop talent, strengthen institutions and produce research but they also solve problems and generate ideas from which new industries arise. 

"A university is where a nation prepares the minds that will build the future it envisions," he said. 

He added: "Today, from the lakeside city of Kisumu, we admit Kamagambo University into Kenya’s higher education system through the award of a Letter of Interim Authority."

Under this authority, he explained, Kamagambo will establish governing organs, develop academic resources and, with the approval of the Commission of University Education, admit students to its programmes.

"The word 'interim' matters. Kamagambo has crossed the threshold, but it has not reached its destination. The confidence expressed today must now be earned every day through academic integrity, sound governance, prudent stewardship and uncompromising quality," President Ruto said. 

Kamagambo is the third private university established by the Adventist Church. The other two are the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, in Nandi County and the Adventist University of Africa in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado.

"We are therefore building forward from a strong inheritance. An institution that trained teachers will now educate professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders. Its history gives it a foundation while its performance will determine its future," he said.

The President said access to education and training without quality disappoints the student and quality without relevance disappoints the nation.

"Our universities will ultimately be judged by the competence of their graduates, the value of their research and the solutions they deliver to society," he pointed out. 

President Ruto said universities must prepare young people not only to compete for jobs, but also to create enterprises and transform entire sectors.

At the same time, the President noted that a country that continually imports knowledge continually import solutions.

"Kenya must become a nation that produces knowledge, applies it and exports it," he said. "That requires a new compact among universities, industry and Government."

He said employers must help shape relevant curricula and universities must expose students to real workplaces and real problems, adding that Government must create conditions in which research becomes technology, technology becomes enterprise and enterprise becomes employment.

The President Kamagambo University to remain rooted in the region it serves.

"It should understand the ambitions of Migori, seize the opportunities of the Lake region and direct its teaching and research towards the realities of our nation," he said. 

Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba said the Government is not merely seeking to increase the number of higher education institutions, but to build a highly competitive system that produces quality professionals who contribute to the development of the country.

“This milestone elevates an institution with a long history of faith, service and community transformation into Kenya’s 90th university," he said.

Prof James Onyango Owino, chair of the Commission for University Education, said the agency's role will not end with licensing, but will extend to monitoring, guiding, advising and supporting the institution’s development to protect the interests of students, parents, staff, the community and the country.