Eshiwani, who died last weekend, knew corridors of power in Moi regime and ordered KU’s first seven computers. PHOTO | BD GRAPHIC
What you need to know:
Prof George Eshiwani died on April 4 at 74, while attending the burial of author and politician Grace Akinyi Ogot in Gem.
From 1992 to 2003, he was the vice-chancellor of Kenyatta University, where he put a strong argument for innovation and competence.
After active university life, Prof Eshiwani took up farming, choosing aquaculture, where he had 50 ponds of tilapia and mud fish.
His former student, Simon Gicharu, who founded Mount Kenya University appointed him pro-chancellor. He was also the chairman of the Technical University of Kenya.
At the height of his career, George Eshiwani was the vice-chancellor of Kenyatta University by day and a Kanu consultant by night. “Moi was my friend,” he once told a TV station. So entrenched was Prof Eshiwani in the Kanu regime that former President Moi once named him to a think-tank that was to help Kanu strategise on winning the 1997 general elections. The good professor of mathematics had little choice. Perhaps he had. At KU, students fondly called him ‘Georgy’ when he freely mixed with them, fielding their endless questions, ranging from accommodation to quality of food and state of lecture halls. He was easy-going, smooth-talking and would easily take to the podium to dance with students during the KU Culture Week, which he had introduced, in the month of September. However, those who fell out with him would easily be expelled from the university. His dalliance with Kanu was his other hallmark. The cat was let out of the bag when Moi left power and the Goldenberg inquiry provided Kenyans with a sneak preview of the underworld of the Kanu regime where money squirrelled from Central Bank through fictitious diamond export compensation scheme earned ne’er-do-wells and political scoundrels pseudo-celebrity status. For his role, and for unknown reasons, Prof Eshiwani is listed in the Judicial Goldenberg Report among the primary beneficiaries as having received Sh12 million. The payments were received from what Goldenberg architect Kamlesh Pattni described as the “election account” or what was known as Steadfast account. “It is possible that the payments were made in connection with the 1992 Kanu election campaign,” said the commission led by Justice Samuel Bosire.
Own class During the judicial hearing, Prof Eshiwani emerged, not as the leader of KU, but as a Kanu operative who was used to dishing out campaign money ahead of the 1992 election. In September 1992, he led about 1,000 students to State House, Nairobi where they met with President Moi to announce their “defection” from the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (Ford), an Opposition party then. According to then student leader, Morris Muthamia Mwariama, Prof Eshiwani forced him to defect to Kanu and mobilise other students to hold a massive demonstration against Ford. For that, he told Justice Bosire, he received Sh800,000 from President Moi to start campaign against the Opposition.
Prof Eshiwani was not alone. Other vice-chancellors, including University of Nairobi’s Phillip Mbithi and his successor Francis Gichaga, Moi University’s Justin Irina and Japheth Kiptoon of Egerton also led student delegations to State House. However, Prof Eshiwani appeared on the list of money recipients.
As a scholar, Prof Eshiwani was in a class of his own. He made students love sciences and would attract many to his lectures.
Born in 1941 in Mulwanda, Butere, he had, after graduation from the University of East Africa, settled as a chemistry and mathematics teacher in Kisii School where he started the “A” Level class.
But Eshiwani did not stay for long in Kisii and was transferred to Alliance High School. It was during this time that he was accepted for an MSc course at Stanford University where he also did his PhD in Mathematics, graduating in 1975 — the same year that Dr Sally Kosgei, who was to later become an insider in Moi’s government — was graduating with her Master’s degree in History at the same university.
Eshiwani’s research was on the teaching of probability to secondary school students and he appears to have used this well. After Stanford, Eshiwani settled for a teaching career as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
He wrote papers in refereed journals and wrote books as well. He loved doing research and even after Moi left power, and he came under pressure to quit, he went to see his fellow mathematician, Prof George Saitoti who had managed to squirrel out of sinking Kanu and became Mwai Kibaki’s new Minister for Education, Science and Technology in the Narc government formed in 2003.
Prof Eshiwani, as Saitoti would later tell Parliament, knew that his time was up and wanted to go back to research. In March, 2003, there was unrest at KU, where Prof Eshiwani had reigned since April 21, 1992 when Moi appointed him at the height of the campaigns under a multi-party system – and the professor was under pressure to quit.
Various allegations had been levelled against him and his three deputies: Prof Jude Ongong’a, Prof Mohammed Rajab and Prof Olive Mugenda by officials of the Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) and student leaders. They accused Prof Eshiwani and his management of lack of dialogue, high-handedness, mismanagement and abuse of office.
The situation was so bad that the KU Senate was forced to sit at Utalii College as students barricaded the Administration block.
“I have information that George Eshiwani is destroying information that has to do with the investigations that are going on,” Koigi wa Wamwere told Parliament as legislator Peter Munya sought a ministerial statement.
But Prof Eshiwani had left a legacy at KU. When he arrived there as the first vice-chancellor, the university had no computers and he ordered the first seven computers from ICL and IBM. He was one of the first Kenyans to have e-mails in his office in 1992.
He also started the African Virtual University, a World Bank supported initiative, in which he was named the international chairman. It was to offer degrees in computer science, computer engineering and electrical engineering.
Prof Eshiwani, as investigations started of his reign, left KU for his rural home where he dug two ponds and started fish farming.
As a founding principal of Jomo Kenyatta College of Agriculture and Technology (now Jkuat), Prof Eshiwani put into practice what he always reminded students: innovation and competence. What was started as a hobby soon thrived into an aquaculture venture of 50 ponds with tilapia and mud fish.
His former KU student, Simon Gicharu, who founded Mt Kenya University, appointed Prof Eshiwani as the Pro-Chancellor to maintain and oversee quality. He was also the chairman of Technical University of Kenya, previously The Kenya Polytechnic.
But he appears to have settled for rural life after failing to get an ODM ticket for the Khwisero seat in 2007. Every Sunday, he would attend the ACK Mulwanda Church and he never abandoned his friends.
That is how despite his failing health, he decided to attend the funeral of Grace Ogot last weekend. He died the same day.
