Author Kimani sues Aga Khan University, citing discrimination

A prominent Kenyan author, journalist, and academic, Dr Peter Kimani, is seeking tens of millions of shillings from his employer, Aga Khan University, for alleged discrimination, underpayment and unfair labour practices.
 
In a civil suit filed in the Employment and Labour Relations Court on April 10, 2026, through Acorn Law Advocates—LLP, Dr Kimani documents his decade-long quest for rightful pay at recruitment, promotion, and compensation for external consultancies.

The author also claims that his employer unlawfully deducted his salary without his consent as part of COVID-19 containment measures in 2020.
 
In its response, filed on May 13, 2026, through Munyao, Muthama and Kashindi Advocates, Aga Khan University denies all claims and invokes statutory limitations. The university argues that the claims raised are time-barred.  

“Any claim arising from events that allegedly occurred before 10th April 2023 is therefore time-barred and should be struck out in limine with costs to the Respondent,” the response reads in part. 
 
Dr Kimani, who is among the founding faculty at Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC), a premier journalism school in the country, is still affiliated with the institution, serving as a Professor of Practice. This rank is one of the issues at the heart of the case.
 
“The respondent’s unilateral decision to promote the claimant under 'Practice' instead of 'Academic' track was a premeditated, discriminatory, prejudicial and malicious conspiracy intended to derail the Claimant’s career progression,” Dr Kimani states through his lawyer, Mr Colbert Ojiambo, in his Replying affidavit, filed on June 12, 2026. Ojiambo has emerged as a leading specialist in discrimination laws in the country, after a series of precedent-setting victories involving sexual minority rights.
 
According to court papers, Aga Khan University (AKU) allegedly has two parallel career tracks: a “Practice” track that’s reserved for experienced industry experts without high academic qualifications, and an “Academic” track for those with doctorates.
 
Dr Kimani further states he had earned a doctorate before his recruitment in 2015, and was hired by AKU under the “Academic” track, before he was allegedly coerced to pursue promotion under the “Practice” track in 2021. Even then, AKU reportedly sought to create a new rank, “Associate Professor of Practice,” which did not exist in its rankings. The only available rank under the “Practice” track was “Professor of Practice.”
 
“Around the same time, the respondent appointed an American national as Professor of Practice to GSMC. He only had a Bachelor’s degree and 25 years of industry experience. It is safe to infer that my Kenyan nationality was the singular impediment to my low-rank appointment over the American with inferior qualifications,” Dr Kimani writes in his petition, concluding: “A Kenyan with a PhD wasn’t good enough to ascend to a role that an American with a Bachelor’s degree was accorded.”
 
Dr Kimani avers that the “Professor of Practice” rank is not recognised by CUE, a fact that Aga Khan University “wrongfully concealed from the Commission for University Education (CUE) when filing returns by the Respondent on its academic rankings.”
 
“The respondent has refused or failed to regularise 'Practice' track with CUE, despite its Appointments and Promotions Committee’s express recommendation, to ensure equity in promotion,” Dr Kimani says in the Replying affidavit.
 
He states: “Promotions under the 'Practice' track cannot be transferred laterally to other institutions, as those under the 'Academic' track. This ranking is therefore not portable and cannot be used outside of AKU, which effectively prejudices the Claimant’s career progression.”
 
Moreover, there was a significant pay disparity between “Academic” and “Practice” tracks, which is one of the reliefs sought by Dr Kimani.
 
Dr Kimani’s previous quest for promotion to Associate Professor under the “Academic” track wasn’t any less dramatic. According to documents he has filed before the court, his application in August 2020 elicited a New Year congratulatory message from then GSMC Dean, Dr Lawrence Pintak. 
That was on January 1, 2021. Five days later, the letter of promotion was withdrawn under the guise that it had been sent to Dr Kimani by mistake.
 
Court filings show the same Dr Pintak made a “strong recommendation” for Dr Kimani’s promotion to the same rank in June 2021, using the same materials that had been rejected five months earlier.
 
“There was no justifiable basis for coercing the Claimant to pursue promotion under the “Practice” track when he was already qualified and had applied for promotion under the “Academic” track. The irregular withdrawal of the Claimant’s letter of promotion to a role he was eminently qualified for was an unfair labour practice,” Mr Ojiambo replied.
 
Dr Kimani states that he is not listed by the university as an Assistant Professor as required by the CUE, despite producing four books, including Dance of the Jakaranda, a New York Times Notable Book of 2017. He’s also put in 15 years in college teaching, including visiting professorships at Amherst College and Duke University in the United States. Dr Kimani was also a Visiting Writer at the Witwatersrand University in South Africa.
 
Dr Kimani avers that other faculty at the school were treated differently: “By contrast, in June 2021, Dr Nancy Achieng Booker was allegedly promoted to Associate Professor under the 'Academic' track. “She did not have a single independent publication to her credit, and she had not met the CUE 60 publication points threshold, among other requirements,” he alleges in his statement of claim.
 
Other unfair labour practices Kimani listed include the alleged reassignment of his office at the school’s Parklands campus, where he claims an adjunct lecturer was left to enjoy an office to himself. Kimani further alleged he was forced to consult with students in the corridors to ensure privacy.
 
Dr Kimani also claims that when he sought internal resolution to those issues, a grievance procedure was arbitrarily initiated and terminated by Aga Khan University but all the grievances were dismissed. Retaliatory acts then followed, including threatening emails from the institution’s Regional HR Director, Ms Irene Wamanga, who reportedly secretly logged in to join a seminar run by Dr Kimani for his students as part of the intimidation.
 
The reliefs sought include Sh2m for underpayment at recruitment and unlawful deductions, Sh9m for the pay disparity between “Academic” and “Practice” track and Sh13m for unpaid external consultancies. He’s also seeking unstated damages for discrimination and unfair labour practices and the costs of the suit.
 
“There is no legal or factual basis for a declaration that the Respondent’s conduct constituted unlawful and unfair labour practices as the Claimant was treated lawfully and fairly at all material times in accordance with the law and the Respondent honoured its obligations under the contract of employment. Equally, there is no basis for an award of damages for alleged unfair labour practice,” reads the response from Aga Khan University.
 
The case will be mentioned on June 29, 2026, to confirm compliance.