- Kesses MP Julius Rutto has challenged Moi University to boost revenue through enrolment and income-generating activities instead of laying off staff.
- Rutto has questioned whether staff layoffs would meaningfully address the university’s Sh4 billion pending bills and has demanded a clear staff establishment breakdown.
- The remarks follow objections from UASU’s Moi University Chapter over management’s decision to declare 75 academic staff members redundant.
Kesses MP Julius Rutto has challenged Moi University management to find new ways of increasing revenue instead of relying on staff layoffs to address the institution’s financial challenges.
Speaking at Tulwopng’etuny Comprehensive School in Kesses Sub-County, Rutto said the university could improve its financial position by increasing student enrolment and expanding income-generating activities. He questioned whether staff rationalisation would generate sufficient savings to address the university’s reported pending bills of about Sh4 billion.
“How much does the university expect to save through staff layoffs, and will that amount significantly address the pending bills?” Rutto posed.
He noted that financial challenges were affecting several public universities and should therefore be addressed through sustainable measures. “Moi University is not the only university facing financial challenges. Even the University of Nairobi is struggling with more than Sh15 billion in arrears, including pensions and pending bills to suppliers,” he said, adding that some institutions had previously resorted to measures such as salary reductions instead of layoffs while working to restore their finances.
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Rutto also demanded a clear breakdown of Moi University’s workforce to establish whether the institution was genuinely overstaffed. “The university should provide a clear staff establishment showing the number of employees, their distribution and the courses and programmes they support,” he said, adding: “If there are ghost workers, deal with them and leave the staff at Moi University.” He said Moi University, being a pioneer institution of higher learning, should be strengthened rather than weakened by measures that could affect its operations.
The legislator further criticised the institution over complaints by residents regarding access to spaces used for recreation, markets and social gatherings. “It is wrong and immoral for an institution of Moi University’s stature to deny the surrounding community access to spaces for recreation, markets and social gatherings,” he said.
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His comments come barely two months after Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Kiplagat Kotut told the National Assembly Education Committee that the university was conducting a workload analysis covering employees, including lecturers, expected to inform decisions on redundancy as the institution grapples with financial challenges that have persisted for more than a decade. The issue has also triggered opposition from academic staff: on August 24, 2026, officials of the University Academic Staff Union (UASU), Moi University Chapter, objected to management’s decision to declare 75 academic staff members redundant.
Rutto called for a financial recovery strategy that would increase the university’s revenue while protecting jobs and maintaining its role as a leading institution in the region.
By Kimutai Langat
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