Elders condemn Matiang’i for alleged meddling in college affairs

Kalenjin elders in Nakuru County have warned Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i against meddling with the running of the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST).

This follows the demonstrations held by the students, who blocked the road last week, demanding an audience with Matiang’i to address the allegations that the institution was favouring one tribe in the running of the students’ council.

In a statement read by the elders’ chairman David Sambai, the elders said the issue was not in any way the business of the CS to dictate the running of the institution.

The Education Cabinet Secretary, who visited the institution last week, ordered for an immediate nullification of the disputed elections results and a repeat of the exercise.

Matiang’i is accused of handpicking five students to serve in the interim Students Governing Council as they await fresh polls for the next student leaders, a move the elders termed as a recipe for chaos in the college.

The elders warned that a repeat of the exercise will not give different results and that such decisions can only be made by the trustees or the executive committee and not any external agents.

The group warned politicians against funding students’ politics saying that most of the violence cases reported in the institutions of higher learning are fueled by external intrusion.