Koitalel Samoei University: Ruto Pledges KSh 3.5B and a Charter by February 2027Koitalel Samoei University: Ruto Pledges KSh 3.5B and a Charter by February 2027

The pledge matters because the institution is still a constituent college of the University of Nairobi, and a charter would make it a standalone public university with its own governance and its own claim on the exchequer. For students and families in the Rift Valley, it would also decide how much of the promised teaching space is ready when the institution changes status.

What the president said in Kapsabet

Speaking during a church service at ACK Church in Kapsabet on 18 October, Ruto said the funds would give the college the capacity and facilities expected of a university. He said the money would go to student hostels, a library, lecture halls and other facilities.

"By February, I will come and award it a charter so that it becomes a fully fledged university," he said, according to reports of the service. He added that he had recently launched construction of hostels for the new university.

The reported remarks did not give a breakdown of the KSh 3.5B, a funding source, or a timetable for spending it. It is therefore not clear how much of the sum is new money and how much is already counted in existing development budgets.

A young college with two campuses

According to the college's own background page, Koitalel Samoei University College was established on 6 September 2018 through Legal Notice No. 117. It is named after Koitalel Arap Samoei, the Nandi leader who resisted British colonial rule.

The college launched its first academic programmes on 5 February 2019. It offers undergraduate degrees in education, business, economics, science and the humanities, including Bachelor of Education, Commerce, Arts, Economics and Statistics, and Project Planning and Management.

It operates from two campuses in Nandi County: Mosoriot, along the Eldoret to Kisumu highway, and Nandi Hills, about 15 kilometres from Kapsabet.

Construction already under way at Nandi Hills

Building at the Nandi Hills campus began in February 2025 under a 24-month programme. The works include an administration block and 14 lecture halls, and completion was originally targeted for October 2026. No updated completion date was given in the reports of Ruto's remarks, and the president did not say whether the new KSh 3.5B covers these works or comes on top of them.

The announcement follows other Nandi County pledges. As Mwenendo earlier reported, the Nandi road plan announced by the president covers a KSh 20B ($154.07M) programme for 350 kilometres of rural roads, with construction launched on one 17-kilometre link.

What remains unconfirmed

Three questions will decide whether the pledge turns into usable campus space. The first is where the money sits in the national budget and when it will be released. The second is whether the charter by February 2027 depends on the college meeting academic, staffing and infrastructure requirements first. The third is how a new standalone university would be funded each year once it leaves the University of Nairobi.

Mwenendo has not seen a Treasury allocation, a budget document or a state department statement confirming the KSh 3.5B figure, which rests on the president's remarks as reported. The figure will be tested against official budget documents once they are available, and this report will be updated if the Treasury or the Ministry of Education publishes the allocation.

The charter date, the funding and the Nandi Hills completion date are the three details to watch. Until they are published, the pledge should be read as a commitment rather than a confirmed spending line.