Inside the Controversial University of Nairobi Students Organisation Elections

The Students Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU) elections, held on a Friday, drew significant attention due to the intense campaigning and chaos that ensued across campuses.

Here are ten key points about these elections:

1. Votes alone do not guarantee a win. Election officials have been known to interfere with the process by introducing pre-marked ballot papers to influence the outcome.
2. National politics plays a significant role in the students’ election, with candidates often aligning themselves with major political parties and using their colors and leaders' images in campaign materials.
3. The election campaigns are heavily funded, with some candidates spending as much as Sh7 million. This money is often used to buy votes, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
4. Ethnicity and tribalism are significant factors during the campaigns, with candidates seeking endorsements from tribal organization leaders and appealing to students from their own tribes for support.
5. The position of SONU chairmanship has historically been held by male students, with no female student ever winning the top seat. However, the introduction of a vice chairmanship position has provided female students with an opportunity to hold a high-ranking office.
6. The elections are often marred by violence, with reports of guns, daggers, and hired goons being used to intimidate or harm opponents.
7. The elected student leaders have control over a substantial budget, with the university’s 79,000 students contributing Sh500 (regular students) or Sh1000 (parallel course students) annually to SONU, resulting in a kitty of over Sh60 million.
8. The student elections serve as a launching pad for future political careers, with several past and present Kenyan politicians having started out as student leaders at the University of Nairobi.
9. Students from the main campus dominate the top election posts, although there are positions set aside for representatives from other campuses, such as Parklands and Lower Kabete.
10. Regular students tend to dominate elective positions, while parallel students are less involved in campus elections due to their limited time and lack of familiarity with other students outside their classes.