On July 16 CAUT sent the following letter to His Excellency Daniel T. Arap Moi, President of Kenya:

The Canadian Association of University Teachers is appalled by the recent closure of the University of Nairobi and by the violent attacks of the police on its students.

These events are, of course, part of a long-standing pattern of repression which has resulted in the demise of academic freedom at the University of Nairobi. Repeated closures, spying on the academic staff and students, and the appointment of administrators charged essentially with enforcing the political orthodoxy of the government have totally undermined academic freedom. Fair and open university governance no longer exists at the University of Nairobi.

One consequence is that many distinguished academics and intellectuals have fled the country for the life of exile rather than suffer the repression in Kenya. That this repression has gone on for many years was well documented in a 1991 issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies (Vol. 25, No. 3).

We are equally concerned about the recent violent attack by the police on the congregation and priests in the Anglican cathedral in Nairobi. We note that this too is not an isolated incident. Kenya should respect religious freedom especially when it involves dissent from the status quo.

We, therefore, urge you to end the attacks on academic and religious freedom in Kenya and to re-open the University of Nairobi under a governance regime pledged to maintain academic freedom, free speech and openness in university governance.

William Bruneau
President, Canadian Association of University Teachers

CAUT also wrote to the Secretary of State for Africa and Latin America, David Kilgour, asking the Government of Canada to take an interest in the university issue in Kenya. -- ed.