University of Nairobi students’ anger leaves trail of destruction

The University of Nairobi (UoN) is counting losses following students’ riots on Monday night which left a trail of destruction.

The students were protesting the alleged beating to death of their colleague by a university security guards.

The angry students set one fire abandoned hostels at the university.

The injured student, identified as Kytte Ondeng alias Ras, is said to have died at a Nairobi hospital where he had been rushed following the beating.

His colleagues vented their anger and frustrations on the buildings which they set on fire.

They said that despite having lodged numerous complaints about the unruly security guards, nothing is ever done to contain them.

It is not the first time that the university's students are expressing their anger through riots.

In March 2019, UoN students blocked State House Road as they engaged police in running battles protesting the killing of a former student leader.

The rioting students alleged that their former leader had been killed by the police.

This came in the wake of a fight for the control of shops near the university by a section of former students and traders.

In 2016, protesting students at the university burnt down their leaders' office and hostels, leading to an indefinite closure of the institution.

The university later expelled 33 students including Mike Jacobs, who led the violent protests.

In December 2013, the university was closed indefinitely following two days of student unrest.

The students were protesting the shooting of one of them and the death of another one while in police custody.

They engaged the police in running battles and blocked Uhuru Highway.