Special Council meeting convened as UoN VC Kiama returns to office a month after taking six-month terminal leave

Following University of Nairobi (UoN) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Stephen Kiama's return to office after cutting short his leave, there was confusion after a memo was sent by the university’s director of legal and corporate board services, Collins Omondi, inviting the Council to a special meeting on Saturday.

“Permission from the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education has been secured to hold the meeting,” the memo, which did not specify the agenda of the meeting, read.  

Kiama was not invited to the meeting.

Kiama returned to office on Friday barely a month after going on a six-month leave pending the end of his contract.

He announced his return to office in a tweet on Friday, saying, "Well rested and rejuvenated. Back to work!" 

When he submitted his application for the six-month leave before the Salaries and Remuneration Commission on July 18, 2023, the UON VC noted that he required to use up all of his accrued leave days before his contract expired. He began the break on August 1.

Kiama similarly maintained that since assuming office on January 20, 2020, he had not gone on vacation owing to his busy schedule.

“I need to clear all my leave days before the end of my contract as vice-chancellor. I have no intention of presenting my name for consideration for another term,” he said then.

Before going on leave, Kiama advised the Commission to appoint Prof.Julius Ogeng’o, UON’s Academic Affairs deputy vice-chancellor, as the campus' acting VC to which the commission obliged.

There have been differences between different factions of leadership at the university.