Kenya ethnic bastions on campus exposed

Public universities in Kenya have become ethnic bastions, reveals a report by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission presented to Parliament on Tuesday.

The Big Five ethnic groups in Kenya dominate the work forces of the centres of higher education, the report shows.

Although the Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Luo and Kamba, make up 66 per cent of the country’s population, they take up 93 per cent of the jobs at Masinde Muliro University, 89.8 per cent at Moi University, 87.3 per cent at Egerton University, 86 per cent at Jomo Kenyatta University, 82.3 per cent at the University of Nairobi and 81.7 per cent at Kenyatta University.

Out of 15 institutions surveyed, 10 had the majority of their staff coming from the same ethnic community as the vice-chancellor or principal.

The report does not cover Maseno University, where the vice-chancellor requested more time to provide the data since he had just assumed his appointment.

While presenting the report to the MPs, NCIC chairman Mzalendo Kibunjia said the audit would be used, alongside that of the civil service and that of parastatals (to be released next week), to develop a policy on inclusive employment in the country.

“Ethnic diversity is a resource that has been mismanaged in the past and must be resolved now to enable greater cohesion in the country,” Dr Kibunjia said.

The Committee on Equal Opportunities chairman Mohammed Affey said the report was important and would be used to shape various policies and laws in the country that ensure that all Kenyans are included in all public affairs.

“This should be the first step to ensure that we stop universities from being incubators of entrenching tribalism,” Mr Affey said.

He added that there could be a need to reshuffle vice-chancellors to ensure that they do not come from the same areas that the universities are located.

At Kenyatta University, headed by Prof Olive Mugenda and the University of Nairobi, whose VC is Prof George Magoha, Kikuyu employees take up 38 per cent.

The Kikuyu also occupy 49.7 per cent of the workforce at Jomo Kenyatta University where Prof Mabel Imbuga is the VC, having taken over from Prof Nick Wanjohi nearly three years ago.

The Kalenjin make up 55 per cent of the workforce at Moi University, where Prof Richard Mibey is the VC while the Luhya occupy 68.9 per cent at Masinde Muliro University headed by Prof Wangila Barasa.

The report shows that of the 14,996 employees in six public universities and nine constituent colleges, 4,133 are from the Kikuyu community, 2,544 are Luhya, 2,133 are Kalenjin, 2,086 are Luo while 1,041 are Kamba.

Though not ranked as among the big tribes, the Kisii take up 1,253 jobs in the institutions of higher learning.

It says that only three institutions comply with the NCIC Act, which requires that not more than a third of the work force in public institutions should go to the same ethnic group.

They are Egerton University, Multimedia University College and Mombasa Polytechnic University College.

The report shows that most of the constituent colleges to public universities that have been established in the recent years are drawing their staff mainly from the dominant ethnic communities in the areas that they are located.

The spread of universities in Kenya, it says, excludes the northern part of the country with most of them located within Nairobi and its environs.

“Kenyans seem to perceive the university as a job creation enterprise for the community within which the university is located.

“It may be in this perspective that some regions agitate for the establishment of public universities in their areas,” the report says.

At Bondo University College in Siaya county, the report shows that Luos make up 84.3 per cent of the staff, Merus take up 83 per cent of the slots at Meru University College, Kisii take up 79 per cent of the jobs at Kisii University College while the Mijikenda are the dominant workers at the Pwani University College taking up 71 per cent of the work force.

“The universities located within ethnically mixed areas elicit assorted symptoms with some kind of ‘informal’ balance between two or three communities,” the report says using Egerton University and Multimedia University college to illustrate.

At Egerton University located in Nakuru, 28.9 per cent of the staff are Kikuyu while 25.8 per cent are Kalenjin which are the two dominant tribes in the area.

At Multimedia in Ongata Rongai, 25 per cent of the employees are Kikuyu, 21 per cent are Luhya and 20 per cent are Luo.