When President William Ruto arrived at TU-K on the morning of Thursday 8th December 2022, the excitement and expectation was in the air. Students and staff were looking forward to the President’s much awaited rare visit.This was the first time a Head of State was visiting TU-K since 2013 when the late President Mawi Kibaki presided at the award of charter ceremony.
To kick off his tour of the University, President Ruto inaugurated the construction of Senate Tower and i-Block that, upon completion, will increase office and learning space. The two projects will be fully funded by the Government.
When he rose to speak at a meeting largely attended by members of the University fraternity insde a huge tent, the President did not disappoint. He announced that he will instruct the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs to relinguish the ownership of a piece of land behind S-Block that belongs to the Ministry for the university to use for its expansion in order to play its rightful role in the upcoming Nairobi Railway City.
On the issue of Government capitation for diploma students, the President directed the Ministry of Education to ensure TU-K receives its fair share of capitation to support the TVET students.
The Head of State announced that the Government will support the construction of a dedicated TU-K TVET College in South C, Nairobi. The planned college to be set up at the University’s piece of land in South C will train instructors and lecturers that will be posted to work in TVET institutions across the country.
President Ruto directed that the footbridge on Haile Selassie Avenue be urgently repaired and opened up for public use. The President was responding to the request by the SATUK chairman, Denis Muchoki who decried the bridge’s continued closure that had caused untold suffering to the University fraternity every time they attempt to cross the busy road. Nairobi County Governor, Johnson Sakaja, assured the university that he had already discussed and agreed with the Director-General of Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) on the matter and work will commence soon.
Earlier on, the President toured the Modern Engineering workshop and witnessed the enormous potential the university has but remains under-utilised. He noted that TU-K was able to produce motor vehicle and factory parts that can greatly contribute to the country’s economic takeoff. The president encouraged the University to set up an innovation hub and industrial park to nurture talents of its students and the Kenyan youth in general.
Upon his arrival at TU-K, the President held a closed door meeting with the Chairman of the University Council, Dr. Idle Farah and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Aduol where they discussed issues affecting the institution and the entire higher education sector in the country.
