KU Vice-Chancellor faces jail term

By Evelyn Kwamboka

The first woman appointed Vice-Chancellor of a public university has been sentenced to two months in jail.

Prof Olive Mugenda found herself on the wrong side of the law by defying orders issued by the Industrial Court.

The Industrial Court ordered Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere to arrest and hand over Mugenda to prison authorities immediately.

Justice Isaak Mukunya also ordered Mr Iteere to take action against Nairobi Police chief Anthony Kibuchi for failing to produce the VC in court.

The judge issued the orders against the VC on Tuesday after she failed to appear before him to show cause why she should not be cited for contempt.

The Kenyatta University VC refused to reinstate two lecturers fired for allegedly failing to set exams and participating in a strike in 2006.

Mukunya had ordered her to reinstate Ms Lucy Mugwere and Dr Joel Mutendo and pay their salaries from the date they were sacked.

The lecturers’ grievance was forwarded to the Ministry of Labour and an investigator appointed to look into the matter.

Lecturers’ sacking

The investigator found the terminations of both lecturers irregular, unfair and unlawful. He recommended that they be reinstated.

The case was then filed at the Industrial Court after she failed to comply with the investigator’s recommendations.

"The court endorses the findings and recommendations, as it corroborates the findings and conclusions upon hearing and considering its merits," the judge ruled.

He said the VC and the university’s council wrongfully terminated the lecturers’ services.

When she was served with an order requiring her to appear in court to show cause why she should not be punished for contempt on September 29, she moved to the High Court on October 1 to stop the same.

She obtained orders stopping the Industrial Court from proceeding with the case pending the hearing and determination of the case before the High Court by Lady Justice Roselyne Wendoh.

Mugenda made history in March 2006, when President Kibaki appointed her Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor, becoming the first woman to head a public university.

She was reportedly recruited through a competitive process where she beat three male professors for the senior position.