Looting mars varsity students’ protest

Looting, stoning and hijacking of motorists and harassing pedestrians marred demonstrations by university students in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Police lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the students when the demo turned ugly at around 4.30pm, seven hours after it had started. A female student was arrested when the police broke up the demonstration. By 7pm, the students were engaged in a showdown with police.

Law enforcers on horseback had earlier in the day escorted the students as they held a procession around the city streets. At the end of the street marches at half past noon, the students took control of five trailers on the University Way/Uhuru Highway roundabout and used them to block the roads for hours.

For the next four hours before police intervened, students lounged on the streets and stoned vehicles that attempted to drive through.

Businesses on affected sections were closed and the students grabbed motorbikes from those who attempted to pass.

The public scampered for safety on Koinange Street several times, after students threw stones at them. At one time, they even shouted at journalists, demanding they leave.

Police had allowed the demonstration to take place from 9.30am to 12pm, after Prime minister backed the protests and instructed them to offer protection to the protesters.

Mr Odinga had on Monday instructed Internal Security minister George Saitoti to direct the police to allow the students go ahead with the march, even as UoN vice chancellor George Magoha warned the students against taking to the streets.

Authorised route

Prof Saitoti issued a press release late in the evening, as well as police spokesman Eric Kiraithe, saying the demonstrations had been authorised.

“Approval of the procession follows confirmation by the organisers that it will be peaceful and confine itself to duly authorised route,” said Prof Saitoti.

About 3,000 students held up traffic in the city as they held processions to protest the shooting of Godwin Ogato by police on Thursday last week.

Mr Ogato, a 29-year-old second year political science student, was shot by police who were trying to collect the bodies of two NGO activists who were killed near the university last Thursday.

The activists from Oscar Foundation, Oscar Kamau King’ara and Paul Oulu, were killed on State House Road. As the demos turned ugly, a motorcyclist abandoned his motorbike and fled after students surrounded him and beat him up.

The students took his bike and rode it in turns until the owner returned and pleaded with them.

Another motorist suffered the same fate after his matatu was impounded by students. A Mercedes Benz with GK registration number plates was one of the vehicles stoned by the students.
Students forced another motorists out of his Mercedes and pushed it along the street for about 100 metres with his shaken passengers still inside.

Three lorries carrying police officers in riot gear arrived as the students raided Kengeles restaurant on Koinange street.

Students had removed furniture from the restaurant and placed it on the street before police dispersed them.

Tuesday’s demonstration started at around 9.30 am at the university hostels, to the administration block.

The demonstrators then marched to Uhuru Park through Harambee Avenue, on which several government offices including that of the President are located.

They stopped outside the police headquarters at Vigilance House and handed a petition to police spokesman Eric Kiraithe.

Additional reports by Casper Waithaka