Vice Chancellors linked to corruption should be jailed - Sossion

Speaking on Tuesday, Sossion opined that the scandal-linked VCs are to be blamed for the failure of universities in Kenya, severely crippling access to higher education for the Kenyan youth.

He argued that expelling a VC is a band-aid solution, calling on prosecuting authorities like the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) should ensure the suspects are imprisoned.

"We've left these entities to rob the rights of students. Some of the suffering these students are going through are created by the same management within those universities and that needs to be dealt with," said Sossion speaking on Citizen TV.

"Some of these Vice Chancellors should be in jail today. If they have qualified to be criminals who have messed up the universities by grossly violating clear laws then they should be in jail. The EACC should bite."

Sossion noted that corruption has been the biggest obstacle behind the collapse of education in the nation, arguing that education will remain stifled if the vice remains unchecked.

His sentiments lie on the backdrop of a months-long university strike which ended on November 23, when the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), officially agreed to return to work following the signing of a return-to-work formula with the Inter-Public Universities Councils Consultative Forum (IPUCCF).

The deal included the government's commitment to fully implement the 2021–2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is valued at Ksh.9.7 billion.

Lecturers from Moi University, however, have still downed their tools, vowing to keep off lecture halls until their demands are met.

Moi University's dons have maintained that they must be paid Ksh.8.6 billion owed to them for them to return to work.

Meanwhile, the institution's alumni have called for the immediate dismissal of VC Isaac Kosgei, saying that he has failed to execute his office's mandate.

They also said that the institution is sinking in financial misappropriation, demanding a forensic audit by the Auditor General.

"The problems might be deeper. What has he done to improve the problem? You cannot keep telling us that a university has been humiliated in the manner that it has and you are still staying put," said Janet Ouko a former Moi Univerity leader.

"Where is the culture of resigning? If you are failing at your job resign and let someone else who is more competent to handle the situation. No taxpayer's money should be given to Moi University until the entire management has been overhauled."

As part of the ongoing probe into the massive looting in the university, VC Kosgei was summoned by EACC on November 18 to respond to allegations involving fraudulent infrastructural projects worth Ksh.2 billion.

EACC has also launched investigations into Ksh 2.6 Billion fraud at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology.

EACC Spokesperson Erick Ngumbi says that university officials allegedly colluded with consultants and contractors to defraud the university of the said amount of money in the implementation of six capital projects.