This archive report was first published on 17 November 2019.
Published on November 17, 2019, a disturbing video clip emerged online, showing uniformed armed police officers assaulting a Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student, Allan Odhiambo.
According to reports, Odhiambo was among students protesting alleged insecurity on and around the main campus in Juja, Kiambu County, when the police were called in. The campus has witnessed numerous stabbings and rape cases over the past few months.
It is an oxymoron that students were protesting the failure of the security apparatus to protect them, only to be met with violence from the same agency.
Article 19 Eastern Africa reported that in September alone, at least 38 students from various universities were subjected to unwarranted arrests and assaults by the police.
The killing of Meru University student leader Evans Njoroge “Kidero” epitomised the level of force that police can use on young people.
As Kenyans, we have always protested to show our dissatisfaction with government action, advocate or oppose a proposal, or speak up against social ills. University students have led or actively participated in most of these protests, exercising their constitutional right to free expression.
Freedom of expression is provided for in Article 37 of the Constitution, which can only be limited by law. However, even with limitations, the use of excessive force is not a justifiable means of intervention.
It is time the police and Kenyans at large stopped treating use of force against students as a disciplinary action but a human rights violation. In an open and democratic society, everybody ought to be treated with dignity.
