Dr. Ben Chumo has officially resigned as the chair of the Kenyatta University Council, a move he says was driven purely by principle and not by union pressure as earlier alleged. His resignation, submitted to Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Julius Ogamba on Monday, comes amid heightened scrutiny of the university’s ongoing process to recruit a new Vice-Chancellor.
Reports had initially suggested that pressure from the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) influenced his departure. However, Dr. Chumo strongly dismissed these claims, describing them as misleading and politically motivated.
According to Dr. Chumo, his decision was triggered by what he interpreted as a clear signal of mistrust from the Ministry of Education. He revealed that he received a call from senior government officials directing him to attend a Council meeting in the presence of ministry representatives—an unusual step that he believes compromised the independence of the Council.
“Ordinarily, the ministry does not sit in Council meetings. When they do, it sends a message that they no longer trust the Council leadership,” he said. “If the ministry has no faith in me, then my continued presence serves no purpose.”
Dr. Chumo emphasised that the integrity of the recruitment process for the next Vice-Chancellor was his primary concern. He argued that ministry interference risked compromising the outcome, noting that “things do not go wrong—they start wrong.”
KUSU had accused him of delaying the recruitment process and failing to engage the union. But he insisted that the union has no legal mandate in the hiring of a Vice-Chancellor, terming their involvement “a complete misunderstanding of governance structures.”
His resignation came on the eve of a full Council meeting scheduled to finalise recruitment criteria. The process has also landed in court, with a recent petition seeking to block outgoing Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paul Wainaina from influencing the succession.
Reflecting on his tenure, Dr. Chumo expressed pride in the Council’s achievements, including KU’s ranking as the top university in Kenya for two consecutive years and record student admissions.
