Meru university students have taken to the streets to celebrate the education cabinet secretary Machogu ordered that the vc be reinstated.
In a statement issued on Monday, the education cs stated that Odhiambo's suspension is the source of the unrest that has led to the institution's indefinite closure. He added that the suspension of the university graduation was also another trigger for the unrest.
"The decision is ill-timed because it was made a few days to the scheduled graduation ceremony of March 11th, 2023, with the obvious consequence that it would undermine the preparations for the imminent event and destroy the hopes of graduands to transit into the world of work immediately," he said.
"Regrettably, the Council fell short of its legal duty of fidelity to the applicable law." cs Machogu
"The University Council is directed to facilitate Prof. Odhiambo's resumption of office as Vice-Chancellor with immediate effect," Machogu added.
The reinstatement order by the education cs comes barely a day after the university was closed indefinitely. Acting Vice Chancellor Charity Gichuhi had ordered all students to vacate the university premises and postponed the upcoming graduation indefinitely.
VC Romanus Odhiambo was ousted last week and sent on terminal leave amid claims of not performing according to expectations, a decision the students claimed the university council's decision was political and demanded that the VC be immediately reinstated.
On the other hand, Prof Odhiambo claims to have exceeded expectations in all performance contract indicators and blames the council's decision on political interference.
The VC arrived at the university in August 2018 amid a wave of student strikes that resulted in the death of a student leader.
Kariuki Wachira, president of the Students' Organization, led students in a protest and involved police in running battles on Monday morning.
The university council has also been ordered to reopen and resume normal operations by Wednesday, March 8th.
