Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has appointed Professor Clara Samiji Momanyi as the new Non-Executive Chairperson of the Kenyatta University Council, effective December 19, 2025, for a three-year term under section 36(1) of the Universities Act.
Her appointment was gazetted on December 19, 2025, replacing Dr Ben Chumo, who resigned in November amid controversy over governance and the university’s vice-chancellor recruitment process.
Chumo’s resignation, tendered on November 17, 2025, came just before a council meeting set to discuss criteria for hiring a substantive vice-chancellor.
In a statement, Chumo emphasized that his decision was “a matter of principle” and denied resigning under pressure from the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU).
He cited concerns over the integrity of the recruitment process and claimed interference from senior officials had compromised the council’s independence.
Professor Momanyi, a respected academician and Kiswahili literature scholar, is expected to lead the council through the university’s upcoming leadership transition, including the retirement of Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Wainaina in January 2026.
She has taught Kiswahili literature across multiple Kenyan universities and is a prolific writer, translator, and researcher, contributing significantly to the development of the Kiswahili language.
Her notable creative works include Tumaini, Nakuruto, and Nguu za Jadi, as well as children’s books such as Ushindi wa Nakate, which won the 2015 Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, and Siku ya Wajinga.
The leadership change comes amid heightened public and internal scrutiny of Kenyatta University’s governance, with stakeholders closely watching how Professor Momanyi will steer the institution in its next phase of academic and administrative planning.
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