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Safety and security in Kenyan Universities: Recent dynamics in securing the studentsPaul OchiengDean of StudentsStrathmore University

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Presentation Structure

• History of safety and security in Kenyan universities

• Change in university environment

• Recent dynamics• Where are we currently• Questions and answers

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Short history

UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA• There are a total of 71 universities in Kenya at present.• The majority of them having come up in the last 5 years.• Universities in Kenya are spread throughout the length and

breadth of the country.• Traditionally, the government funded university education

in Kenya but now due to quality issues people are ready to pay more in private universities and leaving their slots in public universities.

• Like in most universities in Africa, Kenyan universities also were the political nurseries of the 1980s and most of the current ministers were former student leaders.

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Short history

• Politics never died in universities, but rather grew with the coming of multiparty in 1992, so did rivalry and this is when heightened violence entered universities in Kenya.

• Weapons started being found in student rooms in universities for self defense against rivals.

• University riots started becoming a regular affair and its over petty issues.

• With insecurities in public universities, most parents started preferring private universities to public.

• In late 1990s government starts to cut back its funding to public universities, and to keep afloat universities admit excess students and they soon get overwhelmed. A perfect recipe for insecurity.

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Change in University environment

• Reduction of government funding: Lack of maintenance and building of new facilities.

• Unplanned increase in student population.

• Regulatory body for universities : Public vs Private

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Recent dynamics in safety and security

• Typical university in KenyaI. Big both in student population and physical location.II. More focused on its financial bottom-line than its service level to

students.III. More focused on its competition.IV. Lack of enough security and safety personnel or even undertrained staff.• Almost all universities have more students than originally

planned for! Why? Education boom in Kenya. E.g. UON was meant for 30,000 and now it has 60,000 students.

• New risks that never existed before;fires,Cybercrimes and kidnappings

• Export of crime via inter-campus gangs; students expelled in one university go and commit the same crimes in their next university.

• Increase in petty crimes due to social problems; theft of electronics. 6

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Recent events

• June 2011- A University of Nairobi Student Mercy Keino is shot and thrown off a speeding car.

• Nov 2011- University of Nairobi Student Union Sec Gen-Alex Matere stabbed but survives.

• March 2012- A leading newspaper The Nation, runs a story of unexplained wealth of student leaders and the impunity amongst them.

• July 2012- A USIU student Sarah Aruwa is kidnapped and killed by fellow students

• June 2012 – A USIU student Brian Bii commits suicide• August 2012- A Strathmore University student is shot by

thugs outside the university and succumbs to his wounds a week later.

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Recent events

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How we manage

• Theft- Do you have a receipt?• Rape and Kidnappings; Tell us where you are going!• Student Mental health- A better care!• Fire and Floods- No metal grills on windows??• Database to help curb inter-university gangs-• Student security assistants ( community policing)- Be our

eyes!• Social networks to improve communication- Facebook,

Twitter• Making the environment friendly• Police- We need help!

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Our Challenges

• Student Database clean up and update.

• Inadequate equipment.• Students support; in purchases

and following instructions.• General insecurity.

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End

Thank you for listening

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