Magoha’s Appointment at Maseno University
One of the senior officials at Maseno University has revealed that the late George Magoha’s office at the Maseno University after his appointment on January 17th, was bigger than the Vice Chancellor’s office.
The late professor and doctor specializing in Urology was expected to begin his role as Head of the Department of Medicine on Monday, January 30th.
Professor Magoha had been given leave to bury his younger brother, Alex Magoha on Saturday 28th January before filling in the capacity at his grand Maseno University office.
“His appointment took effect immediately, but he was allowed to bury his brother first before he could assume his teaching duties,” the informant stated.
Magoha, a paragon of the world of academia in Kenya, was expected to revolutionize Maseno University’s School of Medicine. This was before news of his untimely death began streaming on January 24th.
The ex-Cabinet Secretary for education had a bigger, better and well-equipped office than the Vice Chancellor Maseno, Prof. Julius Omondi Nyabundi.
In universities, the VC is akin to the Chief Executive Officer of corporate institutions, and enjoys the best facilities that the institution has to offer.
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For Magoha to have a higher office than the VC as only a dean of a department, goes to show how much he was highly esteemed in the world of academia.
A source privy to the arrangements of onboarding Magoha to the university said they had to offer him the best facilities because of his status as an immediate former minister of the Education docket.
“We were hoping he would also transform the [medicine] department the way he positively changed the country’s education sector. The news of his death is extremely shocking,” said one staff member .
Magoha died at the age of 71 years. He served as KNEC chairperson between 2016 to 2019 before being appointed to the glorified yet vital education docket by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019.
He has also served as the Vice Chancellor at the University of Nairobi between January 2005 and January 2015. Aside from that, he was also the Professor of Surgery at UoN’s medical school department.
Magoha died at the Nairobi Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Lavington home. He is survived by his wife Dr. Barbara Magoha and his son Dr. Michael Magoha.
