A new biography of Egerton University authored by Professors Emilia Ilieva and Reuben Matheka shatters the widely held belief that the institution was founded by colonial farmer Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton.
The book, Thus Until: A History of Egerton University (1939–2019)—an exhaustive 600-page account that tracks the institution’s 80-year evolution from a colonial farm school to a premier agricultural university—was officially launched at the Njoro Main Campus in February 2026 to coincide with the university’s 86th anniversary.
For over eight decades, official accounts and historical records have affirmed that Egerton University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Kenya, was founded as a farm school in 1939 by Lord Egerton, a British national who settled in Kenya in 1919 and donated 740 acres of land for its establishment.
The school’s original purpose was to prepare white European youth for careers in agriculture. By 1955, the name had changed to Egerton Agricultural College. A one-year certificate course and a two-year diploma course in agriculture were offered.
In 1958, Lord Egerton donated another 1,100 acres of land to expand the institution.
The authors of Thus Until: A History of Egerton University (1939–2019), which chronicles critical milestones the university has achieved since its formation—when it was conceived and initially run as a stronghold of supremacist settler ambition with commercial agricultural interests—now state that the institution was a colonial government initiative aimed at revitalizing settler agriculture.
The title Thus Until is a direct translation of the university’s motto, Sic Donec, which also served as the family motto for the Egertons of Tatton.
The book traces the motto to the first Baron, Sir Thomas Egerton, who lived between 1540 and 1617. It narrates that he was the family’s “most renowned representative” and was highly valued by the royal family.
It recounts that he was made a Baron by King James I, who ascended to the throne on March 24, 1603. Having become “Baron Egerton of Ellesmere,” Thomas then introduced this phrase as the family motto. In 1610, he “was elected Chancellor of Oxford University.”
The authors indicate that Lord Egerton’s vital contribution to the establishment of the school was land. The idea, however, was not his but that of the colonial government, which, having been motivated by his passion, decided to name the institution after him.
The book records that the decision to name the school after Lord Egerton created the perception that he was not only a benefactor but also its founder, adding that this erroneous perception was maintained for a long time.
Over the years, new Egerton University students, among many others, have been told during orientation that Lord Egerton solely started the school with only three students in the first intake.
But the book debunks the myth. It clarifies that the school was “inaugurated on May 9, 1941,” and that “twenty-two boys were admitted in the first intake, followed by other successful candidates in 1942.”
The authors are both professors at the university. Professor Emilia Ilieva is a Professor of Literature, while Professor Reuben Makau Matheka is a Professor of History at the same institution.
Early chapters of the book, published by East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) in Nairobi, discuss the Egerton family and the “Happy Valley” period, while later chapters examine leadership transitions, curriculum experiments, and the impact of national education policies.
The book consists of 13 substantive chapters. It documents the school’s journey from a “whites-only” farm school in 1939 to a multiracial college in the 1960s, and finally its elevation to a full public university in 1987.
The narrative places Egerton within broader global and national politics, detailing how it transitioned from a tool of colonial ideology to a central player in Kenya’s decolonization and national development.
Although the first batch of students was admitted in 1941, the year 1939 is viewed as the founding period because it was the year the colonial government made a conclusive decision to establish the school.
In that year, the book states, “the colonial government was about to take an important step in the development of European education in Kenya, allowing for flexibility and diversity.” This step followed earlier discussions and recommendations on the need to establish a farm school that would, among other things, “revitalize settler agriculture.”
The idea of starting “a school farm in general terms” was outlined at a May 1939 meeting by the Director of Education with the principals of European primary schools in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kitale, the book states.
The Director sought to know whether the principals had pupils who “might show interest in such an establishment for post-primary education.”
The principals agreed, but not before expressing reservations about the name of the school. They said the “unfortunate wording created the impression that the school was meant for the mentally disabled and was therefore likely to discourage parents from sending their sons to it rather than lead to the desired backing.”
Having agreed on the need to start a farm school, a proposal was developed and presented to the government for consideration. It was to be strictly for Europeans (and at first only for boys) and specifically to be “a twin facility comprising a Training Farm and Secondary School,” the book states.
When approached for the donation of his Ngongongeri Farm, which had been seen as appropriate for the project, Lord Egerton readily obliged, giving 500 acres straight away. He gave no conditions to the donation, only asking that should the project not be accomplished, the land be handed back to him “free of any legal or other charges.”
Nevertheless, the chronicle does not at any point insinuate that Lord Egerton requested the naming of the school after him or his estate. In fact, it emphasizes that he was away for almost a decade during the school’s preparatory period.
“Following the outbreak of the Second World War in December 1939, Lord Egerton travelled to England and would not see Kenya again for the next nine years,” the book says.
The government also debated alternative names before settling on the Egerton name. During its initial stages, the farm school and training farm were called Njoro Farm School and Agricultural School, Njoro. Soon after the official opening, however, the government decided to name the institution Egerton School of Agriculture.
By bequeathing the land and becoming central to such a major educational venture, Lord Egerton was also fulfilling his long-held interest in education. The book narrates how by the 1920s he had established at least two schools on his farms for the children of his workers. The schools—Ngata and Ngongongeri Primary, which exist to date—may not have been established out of an “altruistic motive,” the book states. Rather, like the colonial settler he was, they were “a way of keeping parents on the farm.”
The book is a thorough, chronological, and well-researched account of Egerton University—from a whites-only farm school in 1939 to the expansion it has experienced over the years, culminating in its status as a full university.
More than any other university in Kenya, Egerton has a long and colourful history. However, like other universities, it has faced political, economic, and financial challenges over time, especially since the double intake of the 1990s.
The book mainly highlights agricultural and educational policies and deliberately steers away from the “Happy Valley” hype so characteristic of the period. Readers will learn about the Egerton family in Chapter Two, particularly about Lord Egerton himself and the colonial circumstances in which he lived.
The chapter dispels some of the popularly held myths about him. Chapter Three deals with the beginnings of the college, the structural and curriculum experiments it tried, and the types of enrolment and students it had as an all-white establishment. The chapter ends with Africans beginning to agitate for change.
With great attention to detail, the later chapters place the university within a broader local and international context, thereby increasing its relevance to readers.
According to Professor Ilieva, the book is already receiving positive responses. It has so far been reviewed by the Saturday Nation and Old Africa magazine. Top-notch academic journals have also requested review copies. These include African Studies Quarterly, Journal of Modern African Studies, Higher Education, and Comparative Education Review.
She further noted that the book has drawn the attention of prominent historians such as Prof. Dane Kennedy and Prof. Charles Hornsby and has already found its place in the libraries of overseas universities, including the Library of the University of California, Berkeley.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
