Constitutional Ideals vs. Campus Realities

A bombshell audit released on Thursday, November 13, 2025, by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has revealed that ten of Kenya’s minority ethnic communities are entirely excluded from employment within the country's public universities. The report, titled the "Ethnic and Diversity Audit of Public Universities 2025," surveyed 27,596 employees and found that not a single individual from the Dahalo, El Molo, Konso, Gosha, Oromo, Makonde, Malakote (Walwana), Wayuu, Kenyan American, or Kenyan European communities holds a position in these institutions. This total exclusion starkly contravenes the principles of diversity and inclusion enshrined in Kenya's Constitution.

The investigation highlights a severe crisis in the implementation of laws designed to foster national unity. According to the NCIC, the findings represent a “significant setback in promoting ethnic diversity within the higher education sector.” The Constitution of Kenya 2010, particularly in Article 232, mandates that the public service must be representative of Kenya’s diverse communities. Furthermore, the National Cohesion and Integration Act of 2008 explicitly states that no public establishment shall have more than one-third of its staff from the same ethnic community, a threshold many universities have failed to meet.

The Dominance of a Few and Leadership Concerns

The audit further exposes a deeply entrenched pattern of ethnic dominance. Six of Kenya’s largest communities—the Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luo, Luhya, Kamba, and Kisii—collectively hold 85.71% of all jobs in public universities and their constituent colleges. This leaves the remaining recognized ethnic groups to share a mere 14.29% of positions, perpetuating a cycle of marginalization.

Equally concerning is the finding that leadership often mirrors this ethnic imbalance. The NCIC report identified a strong correlation in 50% of public universities between the ethnicity of the Vice-Chancellor or Principal and the dominant ethnic group among the staff. In sixteen of these institutions, this alignment extended to senior staff in key decision-making roles, raising serious questions about potential bias in hiring and promotion practices. Among the universities cited for significant ethnic clustering were Cooperative University, Pwani University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Rongo University, and the University of Eldoret, among others.

The Human Cost of Exclusion

For the excluded communities, this lack of representation is more than a statistic; it is a barrier to socio-economic advancement. The Dahalo, for instance, are considered Kenya's smallest ethnic group with a population of only 575 according to the 2019 census and face the extinction of their language. The El Molo, another excluded group, number just over 1,100 and have historically been pushed to the geographic and economic margins along the shores of Lake Turkana. The Makonde community, originally from Mozambique, were only officially recognized as Kenya's 43rd tribe in 2017 after decades of statelessness, which severely limited their access to employment and public services. Their complete absence from the academic sector underscores the long road ahead for genuine inclusion.

This systemic exclusion not only harms the marginalized but also undermines the integrity and global competitiveness of Kenya’s higher education institutions. “The complete lack of representation of certain ethnic groups denies opportunities to enhance the face of Kenya in these academic institutions,” the NCIC report stated. NCIC Commissioner Dr. Danvas Makori warned that such inequality threatens the nation's social fabric and called for immediate corrective action.

A Call for Urgent Reform

The NCIC has urged the Ministry of Education and university councils to implement immediate measures to ensure equitable representation. The findings have ignited calls for comprehensive reforms, including stricter enforcement of existing laws, the implementation of affirmative action programs, and greater transparency in university recruitment processes. While the audit did note a slight improvement in compliance with the NCI Act since 2016—with 11 out of 40 universities now compliant, up from five—the scale of the problem remains immense.

As of Friday, November 14, 2025, the Ministry of Education, the Commission for University Education (CUE), the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), and the leadership of the specifically cited universities had not issued official public responses to the audit's findings. Their silence leaves critical questions unanswered about how these public institutions, funded by taxpayers from all communities, will address the deep-seated inequalities identified by the commission. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REQUIRED.