Sh20bn public varsities' land at risk of grabbing, audit shows

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu

Large tracts of land worth nearly Sh20 billion belonging to a dozen public universities are at risk of being grabbed due to a lack of ownership documents, an audit report shows.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu notes in her summary report on public universities for the 2023–24 financial year that a review of the universities’ records revealed that the institutions lacked ownership documentation for properties and other assets valued at Sh19.5 billion.

The report shows that Kenyatta University's 12.472 hectares of land valued at Sh123 million had already been encroached upon, while an additional Sh880,000 worth of land lacked ownership documents.

Even more worrying is the revelation that land valued at Sh16.5 billion had not been transferred to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), while South Eastern Kenya University lacked documentation for land and intellectual property worth Sh2 billion.

"University of Nairobi reported several unsurveyed parcels of land susceptible to encroachment by informal settlers. Similarly, Moi University held substantial agricultural land that remained unutilised during the period under review, with no evidence provided of revenue-generating activities," Gathungu said in her report.

Parcels of land belonging to learning institutions that lack proper documentation are prime targets for land-grabbing cartels, often involving politicians, land officials and brokers, with reports indicating that thousands of hectares of public land have been converted into private ownership.

The Ndung’u Report, as well as various reports of the Public Investment Committee, detail numerous cases of public land illegally allocated to individuals and companies in total disregard of the law.

In its report titled 'Unjust Enrichment - The Making of Land Grabbing Millionaires', the state-run Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) says most allocations were made to politically connected individuals without justification and resulted in individuals being unjustly enriched at great cost to the people of Kenya.

"Many allottees proceeded to sell the land to state corporations or other parties at colossal amounts of money far in excess of the prevailing market value," the commission said in the report compiled in collaboration with the Kenya Land Alliance.

At the time of its release in 2004, the Ndungu Report recommended the revocation of over 200,000 title deeds, but KNCHR noted that the war against corruption has not become any easier, with former and current MPs and officials having loudly rubbished the report’s findings.

Back to the auditor's report, Gathungu said that a conflicting number of acres of land, ranging between 1,500 and 2,000 acres, whose value is not disclosed, has been set aside by the university for maize cultivation but with no known beneficial owner.

The auditor says that at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) and Turkana University College, parcels of land worth Sh80 million at each of the institutions do not have ownership documents.

"Land title was in the name of Mount Kenya University, hence not transferred to Masinde Muliro University," she said.

At Murang'a University of Technology, land worth Sh79.3 million lacks ownership documents.

The report notes that a total of 18 parcels of land valued at Sh54 million at the university have been encroached upon and hived off from the main parcel of land, while long-term investments of Sh25,318,800 are registered in the names of trustees of the Murang'a Technical College.

At Laikipia University, land worth Sh547 million lacks supporting documents, while the property, plant and equipment balance of Sh39.3 million excludes land and buildings of undetermined value where the National Defence University of Kenya headquarters sit.

Gathungu noted that the challenges highlighted in the report, including inadequate funding, overstretched infrastructure and management inefficiencies, require immediate attention as they may significantly impact the sustainability and quality of Kenya’s university education system.

During the year under review, the Auditor-General, for instance, flagged unsupported balances totalling Sh20 million across three universities, including dormant endowment funds, unexplained differences in reported overdrafts and stagnant bank balances without corresponding documentation such as cash books or reconciliations.

The University of Nairobi had an unsupported balance worth Sh16.1 million, Kisii University Sh2.7 million and Technical University of Kenya Sh1.1 million.

"These instances contravene Regulation 100 of the Public Finance Management Regulations, 2015, which requires accounting officers to keep proper records that support the financial statements and ensure their accuracy and reliability," Gathungu said.

The audit further revealed that Taita Taveta University, Egerton University and Garissa University had unreconciled balances between their cash books and corresponding bank statements totalling Sh43.2 million.

"These variances arose due to differences between cashbook and bank statement records, including unrecorded receipts, unposted payments and discrepancies in reported bank balances," the audit report said.

Meanwhile, Gathungu flagged 10 universities for procurement anomalies amounting to Sh1.3 billion due to contracts awarded without supporting documentation.

Some procurements, she said, lacked essential records such as tender opening minutes, evaluation reports, appointment letters of procurement committees or approvals.