It has been a long time since we heard that Nairobi University students rioted against mundane issues such as the sun rising or setting. Gone are the days when the likes of Babu Owino would initiate a riot because he dreamed that his Wamuyu had been hijacked by Gakunya. Gone are the days Magoha would shout his voice hoarse drumming sense into volatile “comrades”
It looks like Nairobi University has found in VC Prof Mbithi a tranquil no nonsense combination of governors Kivutha and Mutua; and man Kalonzo Musyoka. The recent election of a beauty queen to SoNU leadership, rather than the perpetually hormone driven male dominated and reckless previous leaderships of Sonu is testament to the changed times.
Nairobi University can now join the ranks of premier research focused institutions such as Egerton, JKUAT, KU and Kisii Universities
They are on probation. They are yet to join the elite club. this university has only excelled in churning out politicians. they also excelled at making doctors but only because it was the only equipped university in yester years.
The constitution that was there before gave a SONU leader powers that made him like a president in the university. Babu Owino na hii story yake ya kutaka kukwamilia SONU leadership kama Museveni led to the scrapping of SONU, and clipping of a students leader influence in University affairs. This post is now useless, and just ceremonial nowadays
Actually Magoha is the one who started taming them by the numerous expulsions. He also infiltrated SONU and made a good number of the leaders his informers. Sisi wale tulikuwa kitambo we got away with a lot of strikes (Karura Forest grabbing, Introduction of parallel degrees, Muruli killing). We had gotten used to the closure letter ordering us to vacate the hostels within 1 hour signed by Francis J. Gichaga, Vice Chancellor and professor of civil engineering.
The slow but sure emasculation of the Student Union has been long in coming. Magoha perfected the use of spies, bribes, threats, job offers,tribalism, violence, exam failure ,trips etc to weaken the union.
Babu was close to Mbithi who allowed him to do a lot of funny deals using the University’s name.
Most importantly the delegates system really removes the heightened passion over student leadership.
Most importantly, the commercialization of student politics evolved to such an extent that leaders stood for nothing and somewhere even peddling Narcotics from campus. The idealistic days of Tito Adungosi, Mwandawiro Mghanga and Wafula Buke are gone forever. Racketeers now rule theme roost.
With that young lady as SONU lady student protest is now dead. Nairobi uni. mall and mega hospital loading unquestioned and undisturbed. Good times if you like money.
Good old Tito would have held parallel elections and won the chairmanship with a landslide, wait! Back then campus politics wasn’t as tribal like the likes of babu politics, karl Marx would rally the students to the last man and cause havoc for an entire day without batting an eyelid. Comrade power and comradeship back then had a meaning as opposed to this slay era comrades led by a sly slay queen.
UoN comradeship is dead…thanks majorly to tribalism.in my days mambo ilikuwa shwari.no student missed rooms…JAB students were always prioritized over parallels…but two years ago when I read some students from one community blaming other students from other community for simply starting a protest over a student death nilijua things are over…and admin took advantage…
Hapa ndio umekosea kabisa
This happened to be a cashcow for the Mabel Imbuga and a host of friends like Romanos Odhiambo who is now at Meru…Sometimes we did a strike that we only broke few glasses of the voyer and the Cartel charged us 5200 and one guy started doing a skyscrapper. They also floated a tender to build a concrete wall on the road leading to Thika Road but it never got to 3rd of the way. The infighting was once expeienced when a guy (name withheld) was nomonated for DVC in a certain department and the fight got so ugly, because he was development minded…what University in Kenya in 21st does not have a fence around it?
There is a time JKUAT was the example of how to run a uni in Ke…strikes were unheard of, no delays in the academic calendar, reporting was done a semester earlier than others, the nonsense of exam results getting lost by lecturers was a foreign thing, but ooh nowadays its a shadow of its former self. …research and development was main thing…
There is a time JKUAT was being referred to as the MIT of KE, then Imbuga took over.
She will lot in hell and rot again after she is dead. She messed the JKUAT accomodation where if you are public and did not get school accompdation, the school could foot the extra you will pay elsewhere, the student leadership became a shadow of itself where she went to bed with dean to rig in puppets, bure kabisa!