Some Campuses unfit to offer law courses

Moi University and University of Nairobi, Mombasa Campus, have been found unsuitable to teach law courses. The Council of Legal Education issued the verdict in the latest Kenya Gazette notice, a blot to the two universities that have trained the bulk of Kenya’s lawyers, magistrates and prosecutors.

Other universities have also been given provisional permits, pending a review of their applications. The council has given Moi University three months to meet set requirements or risk the programme being discontinued.

“The licence expires on September 20, 2015. The university is required to take corrective action by September 20, 2015,” said Prof Wanyama Kulundu-Bitonye, the council’s chief executive, in a notice.

The University of Nairobi, Mombasa Campus, had its application for operation rejected.

Its law programme will be shut down in July, with the council saying that the university needs to take corrective measures. Mr Wanyama did not specify the corrective action the university should take.

Attorney-General Githu Muigai recently criticised local universities for producing half-baked lawyers.

Prof Muigai said that the parallel degree module was a con venture set up by universities to mint money from parents, adding that graduates of the programme have nothing to show for it.

He said that public universities don’t have the ability to monitor the programme hence one lecturer can teach more than five different fields.

“It is absurd to teach labour, family and criminal law in total disregard of knowledge beneficial to the learners,” the AG said.

Moi University’s Masters in Law course was suspended in February. The school was offering a masters degree in child and family law.

Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kabarak University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology were offered provisional permits.

Others are University of Nairobi’s Kisumu Campus and Mt Kenya University which is winding up its diploma in law programme. The law does not allow universities to offer diploma programmes.