Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thangw'a, on Tuesday, June 13, called upon the Labour and Social Welfare parliamentary committee to furnish the house with comprehensive information regarding the benefits received by public institutions named after current and former public officials, including presidents.
These include roads, stadia, universities, primary and secondary schools, and places named after the current president, William Ruto, and former presidents, Uhuru Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Daniel Arap Moi.
“The senator requested the committee to provide a comprehensive list of all public institutions, stadia, roads and places named after the current and former presidents of the Republic of Kenya indicating their respective locations and, where applicable, distance in kilometres,” a statement from the committee read in part.
Further, Senator Thangw'a asked the committee to investigate and determine if the named institutions were named after the leaders in accordance with the law.
“The Senator requests that the committee highlight any additional benefit gained by institutions from individuals named after amenities, as well as whether naming these amenities conformed to existing policies and guidelines,” added the statement.
Some of the public institutions named after former presidents and other popular leaders include Kenyatta University, Moi University, Oginga Odinga University, Dedan Kimathi University, and Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) among others.
Additionally, some public roads named after popular leaders that were referred to include; Kenyatta Avenue, Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya Street, Koinange Street, and Oginga Odinga Road, among others.
Public hospitals named after presidents and other prominent leaders include Kenyatta Hospital, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, Moi Teaching and Referal Hospital, Mama Margaret Kenyatta Children's Hospital, and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
It was reported that former President Mwai Kibaki consistently declined the practice of having projects he inaugurated named after him.
"We tried him so many times, for instance, to have the Othaya hospital named President Kibaki Hospital, but he refused. He equally refused to have Uhuru highway and Thika road named after him,” former National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya said while eulogising Kibaki in April 2022.
"He was so humble. On that particular day, I thought I was bringing him the good news that he would gladly accept (Thika Road being named after him) but I was wrong," Wiper party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka, added in a subsequent interview.
The Registration of Business Names Act under the Kenya Law outlines that firms, individuals and corporations are to be registered if the business is "under a business name which does not consist of the surnames of all individuals who are partners, and the corporate names of all corporations which are partners."
Additionally, "every individual having a place of business in Kenya and carrying on business under a business name which does not consist of his surname without any addition other than his forename or the initials," are authorised to be duly registered.
