By Andrew Walyaula
waliaulaandrew0@gmail.com
The recent murder case at Laikipia University has provoked debate on the safety of university students, with many proposing possible measures that could mitigate such tragedies.
Gertrude Chepkoech, who was a first year student at Laikipia University, was stabbed by her roommate’s boyfriend under unknown circumstances. After killing her, the murderer attempted suicide. He was lynched by angry students but was rescued by the police who took him to the hospital. It was later reported that he died.
At Kabianga University, a second year student reportedly stabbed his girlfriend over a supposed love triangle and tried to kill himself.
In 2014, Zachariah Ndigwa, a graduate of Maseno University was killed by Teresia Roselyne Mburu.
Teresia admitted in Thika Law courts that she killed him after she realized he was cheating on her.
In January 2015, a female fourth year student at Mount Kenya University confessed to killing her boyfriend by stabbing him for being unfaithful.
In March the same year, a student at Moi University stabbed his rival who was alleged to be in a relationship with the girl he was dating in Eldoret’s Mwanzo estate.
These are just but a few cases of relationships that have cost some students their lives.
Henry Indindi, a researcher, author, Busia Youth Chair and a communication lecturer at Laikipia University points a blame finger to students.
He argued that many university students commercialize sex as a way of getting income.
“Many Africans run into the confinement of poverty through which they make all the heinous acts. Some of these students are married back at home but act like single people while in campus,” Indindi says.
He went on to add that such students, most of them female, look for colleagues whom they cohabite with and squander the money sent to them from home.
“Where do they expect their student spouse to get money? What happens if the village guy comes and finds another man in the house?’ he posed.
He notes that once a person decides to commercialize sex, s/he should know that it comes with demands.
He warned that a lot of factors need to be considered before students unite. These factors include financial demands and the societal expectation of the relationship.
“Some female students have been impregnated while in school. This has forced them to either defer or record dismal academic performance,” the don adds.
Indindi offered a number of solutions that could be implemented to mitigate the adverse effects of campus relationships.
“This issue should be thoroughly addressed by the universities. I make it mandatory for the classes I teach. It is bad for a parent to invest in a child, only for the child to be killed in fourth year,” he says.
He proposed that counseling in the university should be regularized, heart to heart talk and challenged the universities to use the orientation period to communicate to students about responsibilities and consequences of their action.
The don called upon the students to be entrepreneurs by bringing up a business that will be resourceful during their period of their study.
A doctor who works in Nairobi and who sought anonymity says that he receives a lot of students seeking abortion services. He adds that most of such cases are from students who cohabite and opt to abort due to financial constraints as they can’t raise a child.
He adds that many get into depression until he prescribes to them antidepressants to manage their state.
“I have attended to many depressed students or those with suicidal thoughts. After intense talks with them, they opt to change their mind,” he says.
He adds that negligence by parents to check on their children result to such heinous acts.
‘It’s worth noting that counseling in universities isn’t efficient. That is the reason many scholars opt for sponsors and drugs to solve their problems. Sex education should be taught in institutions to save the souls,’ he added.
Research by International Journal of Research and Innovation Science (IJRISS) 2020, revealed that deficiency in life skills and permissiveness are the push factors to relationships in the university.
The study advises deans of students, chaplains and counselors in institutions to up their game because despite their existence, there are surge cases of drug abuse, illicit trades and relationships that end up badly.
