Council of Legal Education Names Universities Operating With Expired Licenses

The University of Nairobi (UoN) andMoi Universityare among five universities whose licences to offer Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programmes expired in December 2025, according to a public notice issued by the Council for Legal Education (CLE).

In a statement on January 13, 2026, CLE confirmed that licenses for UoN’s Faculty of Law at the Parklands Campus and Moi University School of Law in Eldoret had lapsed on December 10, 2025, with renewal applications still under review as of December 31, 2025.

CLE Chief Executive Officer Prof Jack Mwimali stated that both institutions applied for licence renewal in November 2025 and are awaiting audit and inspection by the Council before a decision is made.

“Institution (UoN) applied for renewal on November 14, 2025. Application for renewal of licence under review, pending audit and inspection by the Council,” the notice reads in part.

Chuka University is the third public institution affected, with its licence also expiring on December 10, 2025. Although the university made payment for renewal in April 2025, CLE noted that it has not submitted the required documents to complete the renewal process.

In Kajiado County, both African Nazarene and UMMA Universities were also listed as operating with expired licences pending renewal.

According to CLE, UMMA University applied for renewal on September 18, 2025, and is scheduled for audit on January 20, 2026, while African Nazarene University submitted its application on November 17, 2025, which remains under review.

Despite some licences having lapsed, the Council of Legal Education said most institutions are still fully compliant across the different levels of legal education programmes.

According to the notice, only four universities were approved to run Master of Laws (LLM) programmes: Mount Kenya University, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Strathmore School of Law.

Additionally, four institutions, including the Kenya School of Law (KSL), Kisii University, CUEA, and Mount Kenya University, currently hold valid licences to offer Diploma in Law programmes.

CLE further listed 16 universities that arefully licensed to offer Bachelor of Laws(LLB) degrees in Kenya.

These include Egerton University, Kabarak University, CUEA, Strathmore Law School, Maseno University, JKUAT, Riara University, Kenyatta University, South Eastern University of Kenya, Daystar University, University of Embu, Kisii University, Mount Kenya University, Zetech University, Tom Mboya University, and Tharaka University.