Kenyatta University (KU) student leaders have condemned threats and intimidation tactics being used against them due to their stance to reject the new university funding model after one of them was accosted by three men armed with guns as he left his Githurai home at 6 am on Thursday.
Glen Karani, a student president aspirant on a Transparent inclusive Bold and Accountable (TIBA) ticket, reported the incident to Kahawa Sukari Police Station where he explained how the assailants demanded him to part with his phone, student ID and told to quit rejecting the new varsity funding model.
“As I came out of my home, three men armed with guns on a motorbike approached me and manhandled me. They demanded my phone and password. They also took my ID cards and left after telling me to stop the push to reject the new funding model,” he said.
Karani said that students are rejecting the funding model since the government has failed to account for the financial realities faced by poorer students.
Edward Kinyua, the varsity’s GEMA community secretary general, expressed his shock over the incident, saying that the lives of students opposing the model were at risk.
“The incident that has happened to our comrade has really shocked us. We have returned to people being abducted without a trace,” Kunyua said.
The student leaders sought assistance from the Kikuyu Council of Elders to compel the government to cease intimidating and threatening students for airing their views.
“We are shocked to hear that our children are being attacked, threatened and intimidated at gunpoint. We are calling upon the government to stop interfering with students and let them express themselves,” Wachira wa Kiago, Council chairman, said.
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Kiago said that as elders they have seen how the government is operating where abductions have been the order of the day and are shocked that the vice has entered school politics.
“The government should know that our students are Kenyans and they should be left alone to conduct their business in peace,” he said.
James Nene, the Council’s secretary general said that they are shocked that the country has fallen into lawlessness.
“How did we get here as a country, where students are being abducted? We have seen even the Inspector General of Police ignoring Court summons. When will this end,” he wondered.
By Felix Wanderi
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