Moi University has been placed under the radar by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) over allegations of embezzlement and the presence of 'ghost workers'.
In a letter seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the anti-corruption commission wrote to the institution, informing them that they were under investigation.
Dated September 7, and addressed to the Vice Chancellor, Prof Isaac Kosgei, EACC requested the institution's management to provide it with original documents, detailing all of the varsity's teaching and non-teaching staff as from July 1, 2018 to date.
“Pursuant to its constitutional and statuary mandate, the Commission, through its North Rift regional office, is conducting investigations into embezzlement of funds in the office of the Vice Chancellor,” the letter read in part.
EACC revealed that they had received a tip from a whistleblower, alleging that some of the employees in the institution's payroll were 'ghost workers', causing inflated payroll.
In addition, Moi university is also required by EACC to provide original documents, supporting the payments of the salary and allowances for all the staff and budgets approved by the Ministry of Education.
EACC’s North Rift regional boss Japheth Baithalu confirmed that the institution was indeed under investigation for mismanagement.
However, he stated that the claims were still allegations and that the commission hopes that the university would cooperate with the investigations by making available all documents requested.
Moi's VC refuted corruption claims and invited EACC and other stakeholders to visit the institution and assess its development record. He added that he only took over the university in 2018, and the atrocities did not happen during his tenure.
"Moi University is doing very well. The only thing that is there is that we are dealing with a lot of historical issues among other challenges that affect universities across the country," Kosgey stated.
Last week, the university’s academic staff, through the Moi University UASU chapter, raised alarm over alleged delays in the remittances from their employer to financial institutions in the past two years, reportedly leading to most of them being black-listed by banks.
In August, Moi University admitted that it was going through financial crises and even had plans to shut down some of its campuses. This, a move that has become popular among public universities which have reported to be struggl financially due to accrued debts.
