By Arnold Ageta
The scramble for the location of the proposed Nyamira University has taken a twist after residents of Nyamira County rejected the president’s impromptu declaration of Kiabonyoru as the site.
Speaking in Nyamira, the residents raised their concerns over the issue just four days after the President’s visit to the county.
On Monday, President Ruto, under pressure from UDA’s North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko, declared that the university would be hosted at Kiabonyoru High School, where he also laid the foundation for new classrooms on the same day.
Each of the elected leaders from the county has been lobbying for the university to be established in their constituencies to please their voters.
Addressing the public at Kiabonyoru on Monday this week, President Ruto gave in to public pressure and announced that the university would be housed at the school, in a move aimed at ending the tussle.
“We were waiting for the Commission of University Education (CUE) to complete the process, but your MP has revealed the secret, and I have no option but to declare that the university will be established here,” the President declared.
This pronouncement angered the county MPs, who claimed they were denied the chance to speak at Kiabonyoru, alleging that North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko had hired goons to silence any other leader at the event.
The crowd which was shoutingand holding banners reading ‘Your Excellence, Dr. Ruto, declare The State University of Nyamira’ as the President tried to address the public, forcing him to address the issue.
“I feel your pressure, but I want you to listen to me carefully for the sake of peace and unity,” he urged them.
He added, “Did you hear where we met with your MP and agreed on the location of the university? Your MP has taken a shortcut to ensure the university gets established here.”
The declaration also widened and deepened the rift between the MPs, who seemed to isolate Nyamoko, accusing him of using the crowd to earn the President’s sympathy.
The President’s visit revealed that Mr. Nyamoko had secretly met with the President and agreed that Kiabonyoru would host the university.
The secret meeting is said to have taken place in Kilgoris, where Mr. Nyamoko urged the President to keep his promise on the university issue.
The private meeting did not include other MPs from the county.
Mr. Nyamoko argued that since he is the only UDA MP from the county, he felt like a minority and needed to be rewarded.
“The leaders don’t look me in the eye, and they always discuss me at every funeral they attend,” he lamented. “They are taking advantage because I am an orphan (the only UDA-elected MP in Nyamira) to try and take the proposed university to their areas.”
He claimed that his fellow MPs have been insulting him and causing him sleepless nights.
“Dr. Fred Matiang’i, who studied here (Kiabonyoru), and the Governor have been troubling me for a long time; it’s a big problem,” Nyamoko lamented.
He further claimed that CUE had already finalized the report, indicating that Kiabonyoru would host the university.
However, West Mugirango MP Stephen Mogaka dismissed Mr. Nyamoko’s claims, saying that this was not the official procedure for determining university locations in Kenya.
“I am a lawyer, and I can confirm that anything done under pressure is null and void ab initio,” he opined.
The MP has called on CUE to disqualify the Kiabonyoru declaration and conduct an independent assessment to determine the appropriate location for the university.
On Friday, the West Mugirango MP clarified that the meeting at Kiabonyoru was not about the university location but about laying the foundation for a Kuwait Government Project for the construction of classrooms at Kiabonyoru High School.
“I was at the meeting, and I can tell you that it was disrupted by some people carrying printed placards reading ‘talk about the university,’ pressuring the President to focus solely on the university issue,” Mr. Mogaka said.
Mr. Mogaka thanked the President for performing the function that brought him to Kiabonyoru, which was laying the foundation for classrooms.
“I want to caution Nyamira residents that if this is how the government will make decisions on our development projects, knowing they are not the right ones, then we are headed in the wrong direction,” Mogaka warned.
Mr. Mogaka said that after consulting with Kisii University management, CUE, and the Ministry of Education, they confirmed that they were not aware of the declaration.
He assured the residents that the decision on where the university will be established would be announced by CUE later.
“I give notice to CUE to distance themselves from the Kiabonyoru site because it was not selected according to the law,” Mogaka warned. “If they rubberstamp the site, we will go to court to challenge them because it will be deemed that they agreed to the roadside declaration of hired goons who were pushing the President.”
Mr. Mogaka said that the leaders of Nyamira, including the governor, all agree to wait for the CUE report because they had submitted their proposals for consideration by the Commission.
Kisii University and CUE were earlier tasked by the President to assess the proposed sites and develop a report that would guide the establishment of the university in Nyamira.
The proposed sites for the university included Senator Kebaso and Riakimai in West Mugirango, Ikonge and Kiamogake, Kiabonyoru, which is on the border between Borabu and North Mugirango constituencies, Kiamogake in North Mugirango, Manga in Kitutu Masaba, and finally Simabuti in Borabu constituency.
Speaking in Kitutu Masaba on Monday afternoon during the President’s visit, Clive Gisairo, the area MP, said he felt short-changed by the President after announcing the location of the university earlier that day.
“My people here were waiting for the announcement that Manga was going to host the university,” he lamented. “Kitutu Masaba people are waiting for your announcement; see how you can cater to their expectations.”
The West Mugirango MP insisted that they had sat down as leaders and agreed to propose an existing institution that could easily give the university a head start.
“I had proposed that West Mugirango, which houses Nyamira Referral Hospital, could host the School of Health Sciences because actualizing it is very simple,” he stated. “That was the only formula that could have seen the admission of students this year.”
This, the MP said, would have helped the MPs secure funding in the budget to boost the university as it takes off.
“Now someone is taking it far from town, starting from zero, which will take years before the university starts admitting students,” he warned. “How long will it take to build a teaching and referral hospital in Kiabonyoru? That is a killer of the dream of the people of Nyamira.”
Residents of Nyamira have also accused the North Mugirango MP of not actualizing the university previously proposed at Kiabonyoru when he was the County Speaker.
Former Township Ward MCA, Robert Ongwano, said KES 100 million was allocated for the university’s establishment at Kiabonyoru during the tenure of the late Governor John Nyagarama, but the amount disappeared into people’s pockets.
“Let the MP (Joash Nyamoko) tell us where the money is before we start talking about the proposed university in the county,” said Ongwano.
He said they are ready to receive the university at Senator Kebaso Secondary School, and residents are prepared to move to enable the university to extend its land. Former Deputy Speaker and Bonyamatuta MCA Robinson Mocheche, who at one time served with Mr. Nyamoko, supported Ongwano’s sentiments, saying President Ruto’s declaration is unlawful and uncalled for.
“Public participation has not been done on this issue, and we are waiting for the CUE report to determine our next steps,” he confirmed.
He asked Mr. Nyamoko to follow up on the 2015/2016 financial year Kiabonyoru university allocation to establish where the money disappeared to and let the proposed university take its course.
“For now, as residents of Nyamira, we know that the President has no authority to designate a site for the university,” he said. “We are now waiting for the proper procedure to be followed for the establishment of the university in Nyamira.”
Mr. Mocheche said Nyamira town is the right site for the university to trigger the town’s growth, which has long remained underdeveloped due to its small population.
“If we want to develop Nyamira town, which houses the county headquarters, the university must be estalished here,” he suggested.
Kiabonyoru is less than two kilometers from the recently elevated Ekerubo Gietai Technical Training Institute to Nyamira National Polytechnic and adjacent to Borabu Technical Training Institute.
This proximity is likely what motivates other leaders to vie for hosting the proposed university, as the three institutions will be within a five-kilometer radius, disadvantaging other areas that do not host any major higher learning institutions.
George Ombane, a Nyamira resident, argues that Kiabonyoru should be treated as a crime scene because KES 100 million was misappropriated there.
“Money was lost in Kiabonyoru during Nyamoko’s tenure as County Speaker, and he did nothing to recover it,” he said. “Again, Kiabonyoru was proposed to host a Moi University campus, and that has never been reversed.”
He disputes Ruto’s declaration, saying Nyamira town is centrally placed to host the university, which would boost the growth of the sleepy town.
“Nyamoko was crying to the President, claiming he was the one who made him win the presidency in Nyamira, but Ruto still needs the support of other leaders if he wants backing from Nyamira in the coming elections,” he pointed out. “If he overlooks the wishes of the people of Nyamira and favors one person, Nyamoko, we will not support him.”
West Mugirango MP Stephen Mogaka vowed not to sit idly by as a legal expert and allow a procedurally flawed institution to be established, graduating students with degrees that could be annulled if the process is challenged in court.
“You will have wasted our children, our professors, and resources. We cannot sit back and pretend that nothing is wrong,” he warned.
He said the President was bullied at Kiabonyoru and made the declaration merely to appease the charged crowd, which didn’t allow him to discuss any other issue besides the university.
Nyamira is one of the counties that currently do not have a university, following the closure of Kisii University’s campus in the county a few years ago. The government’s plan is to establish a university in each county across the country.
