Kenyatta University students warn UASU officials against interrupting studies

Following the signing of committal letters by Kenyatta University lecturers to return to work on Monday, May 7 the university student leaders are now calling on all students to resume studies without failure.

This comes barely a week after the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) declared that the strike is still on, urging their members to stay away from lecture halls.

Led by Kenyatta University Students Association (KUSA) president Wycliffe Kipsang, the students vowed to ruthlessly deal with any UASU officials who will disrupt learning operations as from Monday, urging them to respect decision of lecturers who individually signed commitment letters to resume duties.

Addressing the media at the university’s main gate, the students said learning activities have not been going on for a period of two months, hence, no individual or force should interfere now that lecturers are ready to go back to work.

“We strongly urge UASU officials to continue picketing and striking in their own style but not to interrupt learning. It’s very disappointing that some union officials try to play kid politics of circulating messages telling students not to resume. It’s not the role of UASU to call students to class, it is only their role to call off the strike. They should not confuse calling off and calling on,” said Kipsang

They further said the fact that UASU has not called off the strike nationally does not mean students from some universities were not learning. They urged the striking officials to consider using Thika Super highway for their picketing warning them that any attempts to thwart learning operations will be met by student’s wrath.

“The officials are now touching live wires, we have tolerated them for so long. We are sternly warning them not to try to show us that they have more power than comrade’s power,” he added.

The students appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to take part in resolution of lecturers the strike in a more amicable way, adding that the industrial action by the dons had become a national disaster.

They also took the issue with Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed accusing her of giving a deaf ear to the stalemate.

“This is not diplomacy; it’s not a Foreign Affairs Ministry. She is either up to the game or resign if she cannot resolve the strike. She cannot continue pretending to be an ambassador in the ministry of education, we need solutions, we cannot have a task force working for one month as if we don’t care for students suffering at the university,” he said.

The students say they have suffered a lot from the stalemate and could not continue squandering the little time they have, urging KU union officials to stop assuming the national union chapter responsibilities.

They accused national union officials of being hypocritical and serious with the strike while some universities were operating normally.