Editor's Review

"We wish to inform you most respectfully, that we will be unable to accede to the request."

Kenyatta University council has refused to hand over titles of its lands despite an order by the government.

A statement by the university council Chair Migot Adhola indicated that the council would not hand over the titles of the lands as directed by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua.

"We wish to inform you most respectfully, that we will be unable to accede to the request to the title deeds," the statement reads in part.

The council further said they were not consulted before the decision to use a section of their land for other purposes was made.

{University Vice-Chancellor Paul Wanaina. IMAGE: COURTESY}

The development comes a day after KU vice Chancellor Paul Wanaina convened a meeting with the staff to inform them of the state directive.

It is during the meeting that he revealed that he would leave the university because of the land row.

The revelations saw him shed tears as he narrated the push and pull.

Adhola at the same time said the decision for the state to take the land is illegal.

Adhola noted that the university had already planned for the land adding that they would be ready to demonstrate how they need every inch of the land.

"If the due process of the law as foresaid was followed, the university would have been able to demonstrate that it requires every inch of its current land," Adhola said.

"The council holds the considered view that such a decision cannot be lawfully made without involving and consulting the council," he stated. 

The letter is a response to three letters written by Kinyua directing the varsity to hand over the title deeds of the lands by close of business on Monday, July 11.

The refusal to hand over the lands emerges despite a lecture by President Uhuru Kenyatta who warned that he will go home with university officials who said they will not surrender the land to the government.

Uhuru on Saturday condemned university officials for refusing to cede the land saying Kenyatta University is a public institution and must therefore serve the interests of the public.