Auditors also established that the university had a vice chancellor holding fort in an acting capacity, raising questions about its governance and the legality of its operations.

In the review covering the period to June 30, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said, “in the circumstances, the legality of the operations of the university could not be confirmed.”

It emerged that the varsity has had no chancellor since the former resigned in February 2022.

While the University Senate shortlisted seven candidates for the position in November last year, the top office remained vacant as of August this year, when the audit was finalised.

According to the report, seven names of suitable candidates were forwarded to the appointing authority, but the latter is yet to act on the interview results.

The university’s council chairperson forwarded the names to the Public Service Commission for shortlisting and appointment.

The prevailing situation, according to the auditor general, is contrary to the University Act, 2012.

The law provides that every university shall have a chancellor, putting the concerned agencies and the university management on the spot.

The report notes that Prof Ahmed Warfa has been serving as the acting vice chancellor and secretary to the council.

The prolonged period without a substantively appointed leadership has the potential to weaken the institution's accountability at the highest level.

Gathungu has issued a qualified opinion on the university’s financial statements, citing an outstanding Sh135 million outstanding student fees.

The auditor further uncovered major anomalies and breaches besides the lack of a substantive chancellor and vice-chancellor.

It has flagged illegal staff composition amid findings that 58 per cent of the university’s 219 employees were from the dominant ethnic community.

This is in breach of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, which says no community should constitute more than one-third of the staff representation.

The dominant ethnic community had a representation of 33 per cent in senior management, 72 per cent in middle management and 63 per cent in the lower cadre.

The university was also found in breach of the law capping wage bill at 35 per cent of its revenue.

It emerged that the employee costs consumed 51 per cent of the university’s revenue, far exceeding the set legal limits.

Regulation 26 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015, requires that the costs of a public entity not exceed 35 per cent of its total revenue.

“In the circumstances, the management was in breach of the law,” Gathungu said.

Critical infrastructure projects, including a tuition block, library and administration block, were also found stalled.

It was due to a lack of development funding, with contractors having left sites and contract periods expired.

The report also cited irregularities in the employment of casual labourers.

At least 43 casual workers were engaged for more than three consecutive months without being converted to permanent terms, contravening the Employment Act.

The audit has also cast doubt taxpayers would get value for money in various stalled projects at the university.

An administration block was found to be at 40 per cent complete yet the contract period had already elapsed.

Management attributed the delays in the project completion to the non-allocation of funds for development by the National Treasury.

A water reticulation installation work had also stalled, with Sh10 million already paid to the contractor.

The contract period had lapsed at the time of the audit, a situation management blamed on cash delays by the National Treasury.

A contractor working on a modern tuition block had also abandoned the site despite being paid Sh64 million, with the time having lapsed.

The same was the case with a library block, which was at 45 per cent completion, with the education ministry only disbursing Sh27 million out of the contract value of Sh204 million.

“In the circumstances, value for money may not have been realised from the investment in the projects, while delays in their completion may lead to cost escalation,” Gathungu said.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The highlighted leadership gap forms part of a broader pattern of governance and compliance failures identified in the audit. The auditor general’s conclusion suggests that the absence of fully mandated leadership may be contributing to the institution's failure to address persistent operational and financial irregularities..