Moses Kuria petitions Education CS to rename TUK after Raila Odinga
By Ascah Mwango, October 18, 2025Former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has petitioned the Ministry of Education to rename the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) in honour of the late opposition leader Raila Amollo Odinga, describing him as a lifelong champion of technical and engineering education.
In a post shared on X just hours after Raila Odinga’s state funeral at Nyayo National Stadium, Kuria said he had formally written to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba requesting that the institution be renamed Raila Odinga Technical University.
“The Technical University of Kenya (TUK), previously The Kenya Polytechnic, was once the engineering wing of the University of Nairobi. Engineer Raila Odinga was not just a lecturer at UoN’s School of Engineering. He was also an ardent believer in technical education since his days at Madelberg College in Germany,” Kuria wrote on Friday, October 17, 2025.
“I have today written to Education CS Julius Ogamba requesting to rename the Technical University of Kenya into Raila Odinga Technical University. If I was CS, I would do it straight away,” he added.
Raila Odinga, who passed away on October 15, 2025, in India, was widely recognised not only for his political career but also for his contributions to Kenya’s education and industrial sectors.
Before entering politics, Odinga studied mechanical engineering in East Germany and later taught at the University of Nairobi, where he inspired a generation of young engineers.
Kuria’s proposal has sparked mixed reactions online, with some Kenyans applauding the idea as a fitting tribute to Raila’s legacy, while others argue that renaming a national university should follow broad consultation and due process.
The Technical University of Kenya, located in Nairobi’s Central Business District, traces its origins to Kenya Polytechnic, which was elevated to university status in 2012.
If approved, the renaming would mark one of the most significant posthumous honours for Raila Odinga, whose death has triggered an outpouring of grief across the country and renewed reflection on his decades-long influence on Kenya’s democracy and development.