Murang’a University has written to National Lands Commission seeking help to recover 12 acres which have been grabbed by private developers.
The university has also started fencing its land to prevent encroachment and beef up security.
Vice chancellor Dickson Nyakiri on Friday said 12 acres belonging to the institution had been grabbed by the developers who put up hostels, shops and residential houses.
He said from the original map, the university owns 82 acres, but only 70 acres are left for the institution.
Nyakiri spoke after hosting a dinner for the university fraternity. Three bulls donated by President Uhuru Kenyatta recently to the institution were slaughtered.
He said fencing of the university land has been facing problems as some people went to court. “We had started construction of a perimeter wall around the university’s land sometimes back, but the project was halted after some people moved to court. We have started building the wall again on parts which have no controversies,” he added.
A perimeter wall will also be constructed around Technology Primary School, despite protest from the primary school’s administration, Nyakiri said.
“The land where the primary school is belongs to the university. Fencing the school will not mean the institution will be evicted, in fact it will be an advantage for the primary school as it will be protected,” the vice chancellor said.
He downplayed the differences between the university and the primary school, saying the two institutions are public entities.
“The primary school is part of the university. No tussle for land as some people may think. The people we are against are those encroaching on our land.”
He said they are waiting for the NLC to help recover the land because they want to put up more buildings as the university after it was granted a charter.
Nyakiri also praised the president for honouring his pledge to the students on the dinner. “We received three bulls from the President as promised. The bulls were delivered by Governor Mwangi wa Iria. Members of the staff and students interacted during the dinner and it has strengthened cooperation between them.”\
