EACC arrests top University of Nairobi council officials

Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) have arrested four senior officials from the University of Nairobi over the irregular appointment of Daniel Brian Ouma Okeyo as Acting Chief Operations Officer.

Those arrested and detained include University of Nairobi Council Chairperson Prof. Amukowa Anangwe, Daniel Brian Ouma, and two other members of the council, Dr. Ahmed Sheikh Abdullahi and Carren Kerubo Omwenga.

Citizen Digital has established that the quartet faces charges of abuse of office in the controversial hiring of Brian Ouma contrary to a court judgment delivered on April 8, 2024.

EACC says that the officials usurped powers in the council and even disregarded a letter by the then UoN Vice Chancellor, Stephen Kiama and went ahead to appoint Ouma as COO.

Ouma is facing charges of forgery of academic documents and unlawful acquisition of public property amounting to more than Ksh.32 million, which is the salary he was paid for the position between 2015 and 2025.

He is said to have received the salary while serving in as Deputy Director (Fundraising, Donor Relations and Partnership), Directorate of University Advancement, Director Advancement and acting Chief Operations Officer, positions that he was allegedly not qualified to hold.

The suspects are currently being processed at EACC offices, Integrity Centre, before being arraigned in court this afternoon. 

The UoN Council has been under fire for ignoring an advisory from EACC regarding Ouma’s appointment and after the commission questioned his academic qualifications.

In July last year, the University Council went ahead and appointed Brian Ouma as the institution's Acting COO, responsible for overseeing all administrative non-academic departments and managing the day-to-day operations of the varsity.

EACC declared the position irregular and called for its revocation, publicly putting the institution's Council on notice and calling for Ouma's appointment to be revoked after the commission's investigations found that Ouma holds a bachelor’s degree that is not recognised in Kenya.

“The tenure of Brian Ouma as acting chief operations officer at the University of Nairobi is irregular. The Bachelor of Philosophy degree certificate from Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Italy, which Ouma used to secure employment at the university, is not recognised in Kenya," EACC said in a letter addressed to UoN's Council.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) also confirmed that Pontifical Urbaniana University is not accredited in Kenya, rendering its degrees unrecognised.

The university, in defiance, extended Ouma’s contract by six months, calling on the EACC to provide all evidence in its possession to ensure Ouma is accorded fair administrative justice.