The University of Nairobi (UoN) has until December 1, 2026, to tell MPs how it plans to clear its Sh20 billion debt, after the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education questioned its financial recovery strategy at a hearing in Parliament.
Committee chairman Dick Maungu directed the university to submit a report on the proposed interventions by the deadline. The MPs grilled Vice-Chancellor Prof Ayub Gitau and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof Josiah Aduda, insisting that any plan must be backed by verifiable financial projections, clear timelines and measurable results. They also wanted to know how quickly the university’s land and commercial holdings could be turned into cash to meet its immediate obligations.
The scrutiny follows a report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, which declared the university technically insolvent. It showed a deficit of Sh2.2 billion for the period audited, taking the university’s accumulated deficit to Sh8.8 billion. Taxes and pension obligations owed stood at Sh10.6 billion. Reports say the audit covers the 2021/22 financial year, and the university’s debts are estimated at Sh20 billion.
Management acknowledged the financial difficulties but pointed to an asset base of more than Sh220 billion, which it says can be used to raise revenue through property leasing and commercialisation. Gitau told the committee that the executive was implementing a recovery plan to raise internal revenue and stabilise cash reserves, alongside austerity measures to reduce financial leakages and strengthen expenditure controls. Aduda acknowledged that the university had been declared technically insolvent during the audited period, and the committee demanded a clear implementation schedule.
The university has linked part of its problems to lower government funding after the introduction of the differentiated unit cost funding model, which left a funding gap of about Sh1.6 billion.
The hearing came as UoN moved ahead with a major new project. On October 27, the National Environment Management Authority invited the public to comment within 30 days on a proposed Sh4.5 billion Engineering and Science Complex at the Chiromo Campus, with teaching facilities, laboratories and nine centres of excellence.
The UoN’s troubles reflect those of the wider sector. Public universities’ debts and pending bills are reported to exceed Sh100 billion this year, with Egerton, Kenyatta and Moi universities also facing multi-billion-shilling liabilities.
