Masinde Muliro breathes life into sleepy Kakamega

By Allan Kisia

Kakamega was once infamous for being a dull and dormant town, but it is now vibrant thanks to the youngest public university

Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, which started in 2003 with less than 100 students has grown remarkably in the past six years.

With 5, 000 students and an additional 1, 000 expected to join the institution in August, Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Academic Affairs) Asenath Sigot recalls the journey the university took to get here.

She says residents did not welcome the university warmly as they thought it would negatively affect them. "Everywhere we went to look for land and other facilities people complained the university was taking over everywhere," she says.

The university can only accommodate 2, 000 students with the rest being forced to live in private hostels. Many staff commute from Kisumu and Mumias.

Kakamega, Western’s provincial headquarters, has since been experiencing rapid growth of investments and inhabitants. Consequently the town is experiencing an acute shortage of housing.

Office space

Sigot says the university has rented several buildings in town and turned them into hostels. However ,this has caused a shortage of office space.

"One investor keeps asking me if he should put up more buildings to accommodate our ever increasing students," she says. But some residents are not happily as they struggle to find affordable housing. Landlords have increased rent by up to 50 per cent. "There is no building in this town that is idle these days," says Sigot

A two-bed room house goes for between Sh8, 000 and Sh10, 000 and a three-bed-room for between Sh12, 000 and Sh15, 000.

The increase in population has resulted in water shortages.

The Vice-Chancellor Wangila Barasa says the institution is putting up two major building, a laboratory and a library at a cost of Sh150 million.

"We sometimes go all the way to Kisumu or Nairobi to buy building materials," he says.

But hardwares have since begun to stock building materials to keep up with demand.

The supply of steel, says Baraza, has been steady this year.

"When we close for holidays, traders at the market and boda boda operators suffer," says Sigot.

Owing to a demand for furniture there has been a boom in carpentry. "I guess Nakumatt Supermarket is being put up because of the university," she says. The town only had three guest houses three years ago.

 

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