The main entrance to Kenyatta University. Inset: Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wainaina.
Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Prof Paul Wainaina has 30 months accrued leave days since 2010 that must be utilised before his retirement, the University Council has said in papers filed in court in a legal dispute with the VC.
Defending its decision to kick out Prof Wainaina and hire his replacement, the Council also said that the VC will be attaining the mandatory retirement age of 75 years in July this year.
Through its chairperson Ben Chumo, the Council said the VC was supposed to be away from office for a long time since he had not utilised his sabbatical leave days from January 2010 to 2025, when he was working for the university in various senior positions.
Emphasising that Prof Wainaina was supposed to be away for a long time, Mr Chumo added that the Council also considered his annual leave for this year and the pre-retirement terminal leave.
Mr Chumo said the Council decided to replace Prof Wainaina after revisiting his leave records and discovering he was entitled to the accumulated and unutilized leave days.
"In so far as Prof Wainaina's leave entitlement is concerned, he has the following remaining leave days; 30 months of sabbatical leave from 2010 to 2025 exclusive of the days he was on summary dismissal between August and November 2022, plus 22 annual leave days and 30 terminal leave days, all of which must be exhausted before his retirement," said Mr Chumo in the submissions filed by Mohammed Muigai Advocates.
Upon computation and considering his age, Mr Chumo said the council resolved to have Prof Wainaina's contract of service lapse in July 2025.
The submissions are in response to a Labour Relations dispute filed by Prof Wainaina challenging the Council's decision to hire a new Vice-Chancellor and advertisement of the vacancy by the Public Service Commission.
The recruitment process has since been suspended by the court pending the determination of Prof Wainaina's case against the Council and PSC.
According to Mr Chumo, "Prof Wainaina is not entitled to a court order suspending or quashing the advertisement for Vice-Chancellor position."
Mr Chumo said that during a meeting held in December last year, the Council revisited Prof Wainaina's leave records and noted that he had not unutilized his sabbatical leave days at the end of his tenure as the university deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) from 2010 to 2015.
This was followed by his tenure as acting Vice-Chancellor from 2016 to 2018 when he was confirmed as the VC. He has been holding the position since then.
"The Council, in a special meeting held on December 10, 2024, revisited Prof Wainaina's leave records. Consequently, the Council resolved that Prof Wainaina continue to be on leave to utilize both his annual and sabbatical leave days," said Mr Chumo.
During a meeting Prof Wainaina was away on another annual leave that started in April last year he was scheduled to resume duty on January 30, 2025.
But according to Prof Wainaina, he is scheduled to retire in January 2026 upon the expiry of his three-year contract that started in January 2023. He said his contract is fixed and not subject to the mandatory-retirement rule.
He sued in January after the Public Service Commission, based on the advise of the Council, advertised his position and invited interested persons to apply for the job.
The case is pending determination at the Employment and Labour Relations court in Nairobi.
