The students of the Njoro main campus of Egerton University, an institution based in Nakuru County, Kenya, went on a rampage on Wednesday morning in protest of a decision by the administration to bar any students with fees arrears from sitting for the exams scheduled to commence on Thursday.
According to student leaders, over 5000 students were at risk of getting their studies deferred to the next academic year starting September 2020 for failure to pay the requisite fees before the set deadline.
The protesting students engaged riot police in running battles who lobbed teargas in an attempt to disperse the crowd who are alleged to have destroyed campus property. The students accused the police of firing live rounds: Several students collected shell casings on the campus grounds, alleged to have been fired by the police sent to quell the protests.
The main campus in Njoro, as well as the Nakuru town campus, were subsequently closed indefinitely and students ordered to vacate the premises by 2:30 pm on Wednesday.
These protests and campus closure follow that of other public universities (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Maseno University and Kenyatta University) over similar issues in the last few months.
The university administration did not respond to requests for comment at the time of going to print.