FortySouth

So the University of Nairobi (UoN) students went on the rampage yesterday.

The back story is that two human rights activists from the Oscar Foundation, Oscar King’ara and Paul Oulu, were shot by unknown gunmen along State House Rd. in Nairobi. The Oscar Foundation had been providing legal aid to a government-banned sect, Mungiki. A UoN student, Edwin Ong’aro, was involved in protests against the killing that occured near the University hostels. Police arrived at the scene, attempted to retrieve the body, met student opposition from the protesters, in the scuffle opened fire and a live bullet struck Edwin.

Students wanted to protest. University administrators were totally against it. You know the no-nonsense Prof. G. Magoha would have none of that, and indeed put students on notice. The demos were in fact flagged as illegal until a cohort of activists visited the Prime Minister and he ultimately backed them, ordering police not to impede their movements.

Well, if there’s anything we’ve learnt from previous protests by university students, it’s that they are all but peaceful; there’s almost always a red herring that causes digression:

I’m not against demonstrations, the right to lawful assembly is enshrined in the Constitution. However, protests should be properly planned for (read: ample security) and not held in the CBD. Yes, it makes sense to the protesters, that way their message is immortalized in the hearts of many, but it does no good for the economic growth of the City and the welfare of those that are actually going to work.

Student protests are typically volatile, like a pressure cooker about to pop its lid. The police need to deploy more boots on the ground for security, it’s simple math: 200 police officers < 3000+ protesters. It doesn’t cut it. Protestations that disrupt the lives of ordinary citizens should not be condoned.

The Prime Minister needs to fess up to his ill-advised decision to sanction the poorly-planned demos and take corrective measures. Blatant populism is not part of the Kenya we want. We need accountability. This buck stops at his desk.

There’s a right way to demonstrate and this is not it.

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See Also:

• Kenya Communication (Amendment) Act 2008: Gazetting Delayed, Under Review
• Is Nairobi An Emerging Mobile Technology Cluster?