The shocking expose by Citizen TV about the rot at Maasai Mara University in Narok - the 'Mara Heist' was by any other definition outrageous owing to the magnitude of the embezzled amount.
The recent scandal incriminating the vice-chancellor of Maasai Mara University Prof Mary Walingo and her close associates involves Sh190 million but this figure could be dwarfed by hundreds of millions of shillings that have probably been plundered across major institutions in the country.
However, even with the pain of losing millions to a few self-centred individuals, it is irrefutable that it was just a tip of the iceberg whose enormousness remains hidden in the ‘normal’ operations of most public and private institutions of higher learning.
For someone who is well decorated with academic achievements and ranks among a handful of powerful women heading public universities in Kenya, it is inconceivable how she was allegedly caught up at the centre of the mega scandal and severally mentioned as the key conspirator.
Needless to say, what could present a more ideal opportunity to embezzle money than an influential position at the helm of an academic institution?
They are a beehive of activities, money flowing in and more money flowing out to pay for all sorts of expenses and salaries and all, dozens of ghost workers demanding huge cuts of the cake, huge purchases and tenders to sign and so on.
Unfortunately, the biggest losers in all these looting sprees are students who know nothing about how this game is played not to mention how dreadful it is to carry a tainted image of your alma mater wherever you go.
Suffice it to say, most universities in Kenya are run the same way that other government institutions operate – poor service delivery but rich in a plethora of scandals especially looting akin to a universal common course studied in almost all institutions.
The fight against corruption should undoubtedly be taken to these establishments with haste, in a bid to cleanse and refine their image and restore them to their core mandate – producing highly trained graduates and not well-skilled looters and self-serving public servants.
#hivisasaoriginal