A section of Kenyatta University (KU) students took to the streets on Monday, January 27, to protest a prolonged power outage at one of their hostels, which they claim has lasted for an entire week.
The demonstration, which took place along the busy Thika SuperHighway in the Kahawa area, caused significant disruption to traffic as students erected boulders and set fires along the road to voice their frustration.
The protest began after the students expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of action from the authorities regarding the power blackout.
Glen Karani, the President of the KU Students Association, addressed the media, explaining that they had given the relevant authorities an ultimatum to restore the electricity but had received no response.
“We have been without electricity at the KM hostel for a week now. We have informed the authorities, but nothing has been done,” Karani stated.
“We are demanding that the power be restored within the next 30 minutes, or we will be forced to block Thika Road.”
Karani also revealed that the students had contacted the regional power manager and even submitted formal requests for the restoration of electricity.
However, they were frustrated to learn that instead of addressing the power issue at their hostel, authorities had moved their transformer to another location.
“We wrote a letter, we contacted the relevant managers, and yet nothing has been done.
They are transferring our transformer, which we will not allow,” he said.
The protest led to significant traffic disruptions along Thika Road, a major highway that connects Nairobi to the central region.
Commuters faced long delays as the students made their voices heard, demanding that the university administration and power authorities act swiftly to restore their power supply.
The students have vowed to continue their demonstrations until the situation is addressed, and they are calling for immediate intervention from both the university and the relevant power authorities to resolve the blackout and prevent further disruptions.
The situation has sparked conversations online, with many social media users expressing support for the students’ cause, while others have urged the authorities to act swiftly to avoid further escalations.
As of now, it remains unclear when the power will be restored to the hostel, but the students’ action has underscored their growing frustration with what they see as a lack of urgency in addressing their concerns.
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