By James Murimi - Reporter
Kenya, 5 July 2026 - The row over remarks by Moi University's Acting Vice-Chancellor has escalated after lecturers at the University of Nairobi threw their weight behind their colleagues, accusing the institution's leadership of scapegoating academics instead of addressing the crisis facing public universities.
In a strongly worded solidarity statement, the Universities' Academic Staff Union (UASU) University of Nairobi Chapter condemned Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Kiplagat Kotut over comments made before Parliament on 2 July 2026, where he allegedly described lecturers as "parasites living off the work of others."
The union termed the remarks "abhorrent", saying they amounted to an insult to the academic profession and undermined lecturers who are already struggling under severe staff shortages and poor funding.
"We stand firmly with UASU Moi University Chapter in rejecting these deeply offensive remarks," the statement signed by Chapter Secretary Prof. George Osanjo said.
The Nairobi lecturers argued that Kenyan academics are among the most overworked and under-resourced professionals, citing findings by education regulators that have consistently warned of critical staffing shortages in public universities.
They said the staffing crisis at Moi University's School of Medicine mirrors similar challenges at the University of Nairobi and other public institutions, adding that the problem lies in inadequate staffing and chronic underfunding rather than lecturers' commitment to duty.
The union also questioned the timing of the Acting Vice-Chancellor's remarks, noting that they came as UASU's national office was lobbying the Commission for University Education to substantially increase academic staff across universities.
It further pointed out that the Education Cabinet Secretary had simultaneously directed the Commission to conduct quality audits of public universities because of lecturer shortages.
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In one of the sharpest attacks in the statement, UoN lecturers challenged university managers to account for their own academic workloads.
"If, as some Vice-Chancellors unreasonably argue, all university staff are paid for by the students they teach, then the question begs: how many students are taught in the Vice-Chancellor's office?" the union posed.
It further asked whether the Acting Vice-Chancellor should first explain his own teaching responsibilities before questioning those of lecturers and sought an explanation for "the two Vice-Chancellors currently and concurrently serving at Moi University."
The union maintained that lecturers should not be blamed for institutional failures beyond their control.
"University leadership should resist the temptation to scapegoat lecturers for institutional failures that lecturers neither created nor control," it said.
Quoting Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, the lecturers argued that the real problem facing Kenyan public universities is "a failure of leadership and a lack of exchequer funding," not lecturers or students.
The statement concluded by accusing some university leaders of resorting to inflammatory rhetoric instead of providing solutions to the deepening crisis in higher education.
"Such rhetoric neither improves universities nor inspires confidence. It merely demoralizes the very people upon whom the university depends," the union said as it pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with UASU Moi University Chapter in the escalating dispute.