The University of Nairobi staff has been very actively involved in the fight against coronavirus, says the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama. 

UoN vice-chancellor said researchers were burning the midnight oil to find a solution to the pandemic through different approaches.

“University of Nairobi researchers are also writing proposals for research grants required for arresting Covid-19,” Kiama said in a memo dated April 1 to staff and students. 

He said several university lecturers are working with the government, giving advice and educating Kenyans on various media platforms about the pandemic.

He said faculty and postgraduate students at the College of Health Sciences continued to offer services at Kenyatta National Hospital and other hospitals in the country. 

“The University of Nairobi School of Law, in liaison with the Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) and the Attorney General's Office, is assisting the government to draft the Covid-19 Bill,” he said.

Kiama said the institution’s Senate in a meeting held online on Tuesday underscored that the university was being guided by the philosophy of the need to connect and inspire Kenyans by providing leadership and giving hope.

The VC's response came after the Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua questioned the role that the academia has played in fighting the pandemic.

"Are you sitting in the lab trying to come up with a cure for Covid-19 or you are just seated at home? Because we have very educated people here with papers, they teach people until they get PhDs," Mutua said in a video shared on his Twitter on Wednesday.