Professor Peter Mbithi inherited a very vibrant university.
He has run it down because he does not want to consult.
He expects to run that university with threats. He expects to run that university with cronies. You cannot run an institution of higher learning like that.
He ought to have consulted but here is a case whereby he has filled positions of responsibility in the university with his cronies that cannot give him proper advise.
If you are surrounded by people who just want handouts, they cannot tell you when you are wrong.
An institution of higher learning is not run like that. The Vice Chancellor is supposed to be advised from the Senate.
In Senate he has surrounded himself with these stooges. You can recall that for close to three years, The University of Nairobi did not have a council.
I am blaming the Ministry of Education also. How can an institution of higher learning run for three years without a council?
Who was even approving the expenditure in that university? We don't know who was approving expenditure.
The council is supposed to approve expenditure. That is where misappropriation of funds is coming from because it was free for himself.
During the three years when UoN did not have a council, that is the time the university went down financially. This is because he was at the helm alone doing whatever he wanted.
He was not even promoting staff, he was appointing his cronies without any supervision and went even ahead to suspend a deputy vice chancellor who was in-charge of administration and finance.
So, Mbithi was the VC and the DVC for Administration and Finance and at the same time he was the council.
That is the time he went ahead and even banned the Students Organisation of Nairobi University (Sonu). Three years where there was no council Mbithi did a lot of damage to the University of Nairobi.
As a union what we are saying is that even the current council is not helping. We want an audit. As a union we have given Mbithi up to June 11 to step aside. Otherwise, we will mobilise our staff and students to remove him.
The Secretary General of University Academic Staff Union spoke to the Star.
