Broke Moi University to auction dogs, donkeys and pigs
Moi University is set to auction some of its animals, a vehicle and an assortment of used tyres.
At the fall of the hammer, Moi University is set to auction some of its animals, a vehicle and an assortment of used tyres in its latest disposal of property.
In notices seen by the Nation, the cash-strapped institution has listed dogs, donkeys and pigs for public auction slated for June 24, 2025. The university will also auction a used Toyota Hilux pick-up, bulls and bull calves.
“Moi University shall be selling the following items by public auction on Thursday June 24 2025 at the main campus, Transport Department yard and farm yard starting at 9.30am,” reads a memo by Prof Kiplagat Kotut, the acting vice chancellor at the institution.
The items will be sold on “as-is-where-is basis”, he said. “Viewing can be done on June 20 and 23, 2025 from 9am to 4pm at the point of storage.”
All interested bidders, he said, are required to obtain a refundable bid number by way of cash of Sh20,000 to be allowed to bid for motor vehicle and Sh2,000 for other items. The highest bidder shall be required to pay the auction amount failure to which the deposit shall be forfeited.
In the auction, bulls and bull calves have reserve prices that range from Sh50,000 to Sh70,000 while German shepherd dogs have a reserve price of Sh40,000. The minimum prices for pigs are between Sh9,000 and Sh15,000 while pigs will be auctioned for a reserve price of between Sh3,500 and Sh7,000. The minimum bid for the vehicle is Sh350,000.
In May, the cash-strapped university gave a notice to terminate the employment of over 800 academic and non-academic staff as part of cost-cutting measures. The university was looking to save Sh120 million per month in payroll costs, and a total Sh757.05 million annually.
It issued the redundancy notices in May, just three months after a new management team was appointed to save the institution. But the University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) challenged the institution’s move, arguing it had acted in bad faith.
The university's revenue and expenditure for the financial years 2015-2016 to 2023-2024 show that personnel costs to revenue averaged 75 percent, which is way above the 35 percent envisioned. In 2022, Moi University reviewed its resources against its payroll and concluded that the staff right-sizing exercise was necessary to enable it to stay afloat.