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Revealed: ‘Xenophobia’ the real reason behind Rwanda’s partial closure of MKU


The decision by the Rwandan Government to partial suspend the operations of Mount Kenya University in the country could be due to the “influx of foreigners” and failure of the locals to secure senior management positions in the institution, Nairobi News can reveal.

MKU, which is one of Kenya’s fastest growing privately owned institutions of higher learning, has been accused of offering “sub standard training” by Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, through the Higher Education Council (HEC).

As a result, the university has been served with a notice suspending undergraduate courses in nursing, pharmacy and medical laboratory sciences as well as both Bachelors and Masters degrees in public health.

“Due to not fulfilling requirements, the following academic programmes of Mount Kenya University, Kigali campus have been suspended until all the deficiencies are addressed,” HEC said in a notice dated August 28.

MKU’s newly opened Rusizi Campus was also shut down with the official explanation being that it is yet to fulfill “the due requirements”.

INFLUX OF FOREIGNERS

However, several sources who spoke to Nairobi News in Rwanda say the relationship between the institution and locals in Kigali has been deteriorating in the past year owing to the “influx of foreigners.”

“There are a lot of Kenyans flooding the place, even to do menial jobs. There are very few people that can take care of the local’s interests there, yet it is an institution that is benefiting greatly from the incomes of Rwandans,” our source revealed.

“However, if the institution had a local resident in a senior management position, the issue would have been handled easily and quicker without getting to this extent,” the source added.

MKU Kigali Campus was opened in 2010 and mainly offers courses in health education and Executive MBA programmes.

Owned by founder and chairman Simon Gicharu, the institution has a population of 4,500 students spread over three campuses – Kicukiro, Camp Kigali and Town Centre.