Kenyan university closed indefinitely over students' riot

A Kenyan university was closed indefinitely on Tuesday following relentless violent protests by students over union elections.

The University of Nairobi special committee formed to interrogate the matter has subsequently instructed the students to vacate the campus with immediately effect.

The students have been on unrest since Saturday when long-serving Paul Ongili, commonly known as Babu Owino, was sworn in as the chairman of Students Organization of Nairobi University (SONU) following his re-election.

They indicated that Babu rigged the elections with a section of the angry students captured on tape stating that they were tired of being led by him and went further and burn the union offices including blocking major highways.

The institution's Vice-Chancellor Peter Mbithi had urged the students to maintain peace and warned them against disrupting normal functions, saying the Senate would review a report on the disputed elections.

Despite the plea, the students resolved to carry on with the demonstrations, claiming Babu won the seat by engaging in malpractices.

Meanwhile, the police said they have launched investigations into a video that appears to show some protesting students being whipped in Nairobi.

The 30-second clip surfaced on social media on Monday showed students were lying on a muddy and wet ground as the police beat them up.

The clip has triggered anger among Kenyans including some politicians who condemned the brutal way in which the police officers treated the students.

Nairobi County police commander Japheth Koome said they had launched a probe into the video.

"We want to know if indeed the video was shot at the university and then we will launch investigations on how this happened," Koome told journalists in Nairobi.

Some students claimed police in anti-riot gear evicted them from their hostels and classes before forcing them to lie down on the roadside where the beating happened.

Police spokesman Charles Owino said the video clip was manipulated. "For the last three days, there has only been conflict among the students, their leaders and the university's administration," said Owino.

He said police only sought to protect people using University Way and ensure no property was destroyed during fresh protests on Monday.

Owino said police deployed to control the chaos had instructions on how they would handle the situation. "Officers don't go into their hostels and classrooms. We only control them from causing chaos on the road," he said. Enditem