Fire destroys hostel at Nairobi university

Property worth thousands of shillings was destroyed as a hostel went up in flames at the University of Nairobi on Sunday.

However, fire-fighters who rushed to the scene were able to contain and prevent it from spreading to other buildings within the institution.

The cause of the fire could not be immediately established even as students exchanged blame, claiming it was started by warring factions.

Top officials of the Students Organisation of Nairobi University (Sonu) and final year students in the department of Architecture reside at the hostels.  

According to them, members of a rival camp intended to destroy the property of their chairman but the fire went out of control and spread to the entire hostel.

Trouble in Sonu started early this month when the union secretary general Alex Matere suspended the the chairman for “gross misconduct” and demanded that he be arrested and probed over alleged criminal activities.

After the suspension, unknown assailants attacked Mr Matere last week, stabbing him in the chest and amputating three of his fingers.

“We believe that Mr Ongili (Sonu chariman) is responsible for the attack on the secretary-general because he was suspended from the union” said Mr Mark Museba, a Sonu official.

The students, who later held a demonstration, accused the police and university management of complacency saying they had reported the deteriorating security situation, but no action has been taken.

The university administration has remained tight lipped on the activities of the student leadership.