This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
On Monday, November 11, 2019, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology's (JKUAT) main campus was indefinitely closed following a violent confrontation between protesting students and the police.
The students' demonstration caused a traffic snarl-up along Thika Superhighway at Juja, prompting the police to intervene.
According to eyewitnesses, the police engaged the students in running battles and fired teargas canisters to disperse the crowd.
The university administration issued a memo stating that the institution would remain closed until further notice.
Students were asked to leave the campus by 11:30 am on Monday.
The students were protesting the rising cases of insecurity around the campus, citing several instances of robbery and theft.
They claimed that their grievances to beef up security had fallen on deaf ears.
One student, Amos Wafula, stated, 'We have no classes today, I arrived in school only to find the students demonstrating. They want the police in Juja town to address the issue of insecurity in the area.'
Another student, Caleb Omari, noted that the area around the university had been insecure in recent times, with several incidents of students being attacked.
