• He takes over from Isaac Mbeche who had been acting after Peter Mbithi was sent on terminal leave in June last year.
• VC set to take home more than half a million in salary and allowances.
Image: COURTESY
Newly appointed University of Nairobi vice chancellor Stephen Kiama is to take charge of the institution on Monday.
He takes over from Isaac Mbeche who had been acting after Prof Peter Mbithi was sent on terminal leave in June last year. Kiama has been serving as the the deputy vice chancellor in charge of Human Resource and Administration and will lead the institution for the next five years. For 15 years at the institution, he has served in different capacities.
UoN Council chairperson Julia Ojiambo, in a letter dated January 5, thanked outgoing VC Mbithi and his acting counterpart Mbeche for discharging their duties effectively. “Our warm congratulations to the new vice chancellor on this appointment. We also wish to appreciate all who responded to the call for applications for exemplifying enthusiasm, courage, competitive spirit, the devotion of time and effort and their readiness and willingness to offer themselves in service to the University of Nairobi,” Ojiambo said.
Kiama’s biggest task will be to turn around the dented financial health of the institution. It is mired in debts. The university’s book of records indicates it has yet to submit Sh1.4 billion of its staff revenues, pension deductions and others. The predicaments are blamed on a wide range of issues, including mismanagement.
Kiama will take home more than Sh500,000 in salary and allowances. According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, a university boss receives between Sh420,567 and Sh744,078 as basic salary — the same category as Cabinet secretaries, the DPP and the IG, among other state officers.
He will also get Sh120,000 for housing allowance and a medical cover whose details have yet to be revealed.
The recruitment process was carried out at the Public Service Commission and the names of successful candidates sent to the university council for appointment.
Born in Nyeri in 1964, the accomplished professor has 29 years of research and teaching experience at various institutions half of that spent in the University of Nairobi.
Other institutions he served include St Andrews University, Scotland; Free University of Berlin, Germany; University of Bern, Switzerland; University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; and the University of Ghana. Kiama had been the principal at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences since April 2016.
Edited by R.Wamochie