University VC asks minister to stop ‘plot’ to sack him

Embattled Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) vice chancellor has reached out to acting Education CS Fred Matiang’i to save him as he fights to save his job from a council keen on kicking him out.

Correspondence between Fredrick Otieno and Dr Matiang’i seen by Sunday Standard shows a vice chancellor in distress. He has labelled the probe against him as a witch hunt and is calling for the intervention of the CS to keep him in office.

In a letter sent to Matiang’i on November 10, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had called for the suspension of Prof Otieno as investigations into alleged graft practices concluded. But instead, the CS ordered the university to convene a meeting with the VC and EACC to agree on a timeline for the investigations, conclusions and the steps to follow.

Prof Otieno, in a follow-up letter on the matter, accused the council chairman Jeremy Bundi of deliberately being cagey on the identity of the EACC detectives investigating the matter after they insisted a meeting to discuss his conduct was to be held outside the campus.

“There was no proper communication between the university and the commission on the said meeting and we relied on the chairman’s direct phone calls,” he says of the disciplinary meeting.

“When it became apparent that there was an extreme delay from the commission, at around midday the council was informed by the chair that the anonymous officers from EACC we expected were not comfortable with meeting the full council and they preferred only a few select members to meet them outside the institution,” he said, adding that he was ordered out of the room and the meeting proceeded in his absence.

“I was called back into the meeting two hours later when it was communicated that I would be suspended or sent on one month’s leave,” he said.

Otieno contended that the manner in which the meeting was handled confirmed that he was being unfairly targeted, citing the case of embattled Moi University VC Laban Ayiro, whose appointment has also been challenged by local leaders.

“It is in the public domain that there is a trend towards such machinations in our country gravely interfering with academic freedom. The allegations against me are false and continue to remain mere allegations for as long as the commission is unable to provide proof when called upon,” he said.

Moreover, he is challenging the decision to suspend him, insisting that it was unlawful since he was not accorded an opportunity to witness or be part of the proceedings of such a critical meeting.

He insists the EACC has no power to order or direct for his suspension and pointed a finger at the university council, which he said was being subordinate to the position of merely implementing their directive to have me suspended from office.

“The decision was not unanimous since two members strongly opposed the move and noted the unfairness in the way the whole matter was handled,” he said, noting that even the legal officer was locked out of the meeting.

In response, Matiangi has urged the VC to meet with the EACC so as to ensure a speedy conclusion of the matter.