Laikipia University closed indefinitely following students killing

Nyahururu, Kenya : Laikipia University in
Nyahururu has been closed down
indefinitely after chaos rocked the
institution and students went into the
rampage.
This followed the killing of a first year
student when he was knocked down by a
speeding vehicle along Nyahururu-Nakuru
road.
Another one was allegedly shot dead by
the police as he led a group of students in
blocking the road in protest.
Several others sustained injuries during
the melee which saw police from
Nyahururu police station engage the
students in running battles.
One of them has since been admitted to
Nyahururu District Hospital with severe
wounds.
A senior police officer was also injured
during the confrontation which saw the
students torch the vehicle that allegedly
hit the student.
According to the school vice chancellor
Francis Lelo, the student was crossing the
road when the vehicle said to belong to a
police officer from Laikipia hit him.
“As usual, the students went in protest
mode and blocked the road affecting
transport. That is when the police moved
in and engaged them in running battles,”
he said.
He noted that police hurled tear gas
canisters to disperse the angry students
and that was when one of them was shot
in unclear circumstances. We are yet to
get official communication on the matter
from the police,” he said.
A contingent of over 50 police officers led
by Nyandarua OCPD Benjamin Onsongo
was deployed to quell the riots.
Onsongo said that the second student
who died at the Nyahururu District
Hospital succumbed to injuries he
sustained during the riot.
“We are still investigating the matter as
we suspect he died after he was hit by an
object during the rampage. The
postmortem will however confirm,” he
said.
He blamed the students for blocking the
road that affected transport for the entire
day.
“They should address their grievances in a
rightful way but not attacking motorists.
That is why we had to take action and
disperse them,” he said.

The Vice chancellor said that the school
management was deliberating on the
matter and will inform the students in
due course.
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