JKUAT Karen Campus closed after riots

Written by Daniel Saenyi

JKUAT students blocking the Bogani road after one of the Karen Campus students was knocked dead by an overspeeding car. [Photo|Daniel Saenyi]

Students of Jomo Kenyatta University Karen Campus poured to the streets blocking the Bogani road completely for over three hours protesting the death of one of their colleagues who was knocked dead by a private car.

During the car accident, another student was injured and is nursing his wounds at a Nairobi hospital.

The students complained of negligence as they have been complaining of the narrow road for over a year and over speeding by motorists but all has fallen on deaf ears.

The driver of the over speeding car tried to speed away but was intercepted by the angry students who threatened to lynch him before he was rescued by police who arrived on time to save him from the enraged students.

In addition, the students were incensed as they had to call for an ambulance on their own to save the life of the girl student.

On the morning of Oct 18, 2011 students were assembled by the campus principal to urge them to remain calm about the incident, a move which seemed to have worked in reverse as the students immediately took off to the roads to protest.

They barricaded Langata South road for over n three hours stopping traffic. School officials promised to ask the City Council to start building bumps along the road immediately.

However students did not seem to agree as they started throwing stones prompting police to unleash teargas against them. 

It was a hide and seek game with the police for a while and the police finally managed to take control of the situation and no student was injured in the protest. 

This has come as a challenge for the recently elected student council and seems they have gotten quite a handful in their first week in office. 

It is up to the student leaders to try and make students calm down as learning has been interrupted. 

The campus has been closed down until Monday Oct 24, 2011 when classes will hopefully resume amidst threats by some students that if no repairs are made on the road by Monday they will definitely protest again.