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The High Court has stopped the recruitment of a new Vice Chancellor for Egerton University following an application by a senior administrator at the institution.
Drama unfolded at the institution on Thursday morning after a court process server who had gone to serve the court orders was denied entry at the Nakuru town campus where the interviews were taking place.
Employment and Labour Relations Judge Monica Mbaru issued temporary orders on Wednesday stopping the exercise after Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration and Finance Professor Njenga Munene moved to court citing biasness and lack of transparency in the process.
Prof Munene who was seeking for recruitment into the post, through a sworn affidavit averred that the exercise lacked integrity and impartiality.
"The University Council through an advertisement in local dailies had invited applicants with a 10 years' experience in research and academics, but they later changed the requirements to 10 years in administration indicating that there was an orchestrated move to bar some candidates from the exercise," states Prof Njenga.
He claimed that chairman of the University council had threatened him to ensure he doesn't make it in the recruitment.
A court process server Julius Kamotho who had come to issue the court order had to pin the orders at the gate after being denied entry.
" I was here at 8.30 am ready to serve the court orders but heavily armed police officers who were stationed at the gate denied me entry forcing me to serve the orders at the gate," he told the media.
The court had ordered the University to be served immediately and slated Inter party hearing of the matter for September 24.
"The following orders are made in the interim that in the interest of justice and due process interviews by the respondent scheduled for the 17th and 18 September 2018 stopped pending the hearing of the notice of motion inter parties," the Judge said.
Professor Munene wants the University to explain why he was not shortlisted for the position of Vice Chancellor.
He also demands for the minutes of University Council which shortlisted applicants and setting out the criteria used to identify candidates to be shortlisted for the position.
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