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Chaos As Egerton Vice-Chancellor Postpones Visit to Kisii Campus
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 18 July 2007 03:12
Some Kisii campus students were also arrested during the demonstration against Vice-Chancellor Ezra Maritim, whom they accused of ignoring problems at the institution.
The police also beat bystanders during running battles with the students in Kisii Town. Sources said the students were protesting at the postponement of Prof Maritim's visit to launch their union. During the visit, college principal Salima Chacha was also to address students' problems.
Police, led by local station boss Paul Maranko, sealed off a building housing a computer training centre affiliated to the college as they lobbed tear gas canisters at the students.
The 300 students threatened to destroy the computers, claiming lecturers were getting a lot of money from the centre at the expense of their education.
Other grievances included the delay by the government to tarmac a two-kilometre road linking the campus with the Kisii-Kilgoris road.
The students carried placards that read: "Maritim must go!" "Maritim is a ceremonial VC!" Their leader, Mr Mathews Chirasha, accused the police of provoking them.
He said the students had been peaceful, adding that he did not understand why the police used force to disperse them. He also accused Prof Maritim of failing to address their concerns and only making "technical appearances" at the campus.
Prof Chacha said the computer centre was not entirely run by the college but by a private company. "The computers were not bought by the college but by a Kisumu-based company which offers courses to the public and the college," he explained.
Regarding the road, Prof Chacha said he had raised the matter with relevant authorities. The students and the police were still engaged in running battles by midday. while arresting some.
