MMUST main campus closed indefinitely after riots
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) students have engaged police officers in running battles at the Kakamega main campus early today following a strike that led to the institute being closed indefinitely.
For the last two days, students and the institute’s management have been at logger heads with students demanding that their colleagues who have not cleared fees be allowed to sit the end of semester exams.
Students claim that the management communicated the zero balance idea too late when the affected students could not raise the fees.
They argue that the institute ought to have communicated at the beginning of the semester for them to work out issues by the end of it.
Addressing the press, the students secretary general David Kemboi accused the institute’s management for being after causing chaos at the institute.
Kemboi said that as students leaders they have talked with both the students and the administration in an effort to ensure that peace prevails.
He said that for the last two days, they have done all they could to calm down the situation and it was working until when the management decided to call in the police and soldiers who have ended up injuring their fellow students.
Another student who sought anonymity blamed the finance department at the institute saying that it has to be dissolved and a new one put in place explaining that there are many mistakes in the financial department.
“For example I have a balance of Ksh. 10000 to clear but the records indicate that I have paid an extra cash of 16,000 shillings to the institute.” He said wondering how many have been affected negatively.
Kemboi revealed that only 20% of students have cleared fees and wonders what the institute expects to do with the remaining 80%.
Students were forced to vacate the institute by 11 am, the defiant ones being send out by teargas canisters as they tried to engage the police officers.
A number of students sustained injuries during the mayhem.
Efforts to reach the institute’s vice chancellor prof. Fred Otieno for comment were futile.
