Fred Matiang’i, the former Interior Cabinet Secretary, has firmly denied allegations that he issued orders to close Kenyatta University‘s Kigali campus.
Appearing virtually before the National Assembly’s Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education from Washington DC, Matiang’i refuted the accusations and clarified that the decision to close the campus was influenced by the host country’s policies, making it impractical for the university to continue its operations in Rwanda.
Matiang’i’s appearance before the committee came as a result of a fact-finding mission to Rwanda by a delegation of committee members, led by Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima, on September 27.
The delegation’s report followed an audit query raised in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2019-20, which revealed that the Kigali campus had been closed despite an expenditure of Sh420,749,207.
According to the Auditor General, the closure of the campus did not yield any economic returns for the country. The decision to close the campus was attributed to operational challenges arising from the Rwandan government’s policies.
The National Treasury has since authorized the sale of the Kigali property. However, the university’s management has not fully recovered the amount invested in the campus despite assurances that all necessary checks were conducted before its establishment.
In response, the management informed the committee that it initiated the campus’s closure process as guided by the Ministry of Education and cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a contributing factor to the delay in selling the property.
The university council also approved the leasing of the property as a stop-gap measure to generate rental revenue, with an estimated monthly income of Sh4.5 million. Unfortunately, the highest responsive bidder submitted an offer below the market rate, rendering the tender non-responsive.
The expenditure breakdown revealed that Sh314,894,910 was spent on the purchase of land and building, Sh54,073,302 on renovation and partitioning, Sh6,657,697 on furniture and equipment, Sh24,699,246 on computers, Sh8,206,856 on motor vehicles, Sh11,489,009 on operating expenses, and Sh728,185 on personal emoluments.
The committee’s inspection tour in Kigali further uncovered issues with renovation costs, the single-sourcing of land purchase, poor workmanship, the absence of stakeholder consultation, and a risk of financial loss.
As a result, the committee has recommended a special audit to investigate potential irregularities and financial mismanagement in the purchase of the land and building, as well as subsequent expenditures.
Furthermore, former Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Olive Mugenda and the accounting officer during the campus’s establishment have been summoned to explain the expenses related to the purchase and renovation of the Kigali campus.
