Riot That Happened in a Campus

On a lovely day in May 2007, I reported at JKUAT to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering. I came to like the university because it offered a relaxed, rural environment that made me feel at one with nature. Never, for the life of me, did I imagine a riot could occur at JKUAT. But then, what I never imagined happened.

In August 2008 when I was in my second year, I woke up one morning to rumours of an impending strike by students. Later that morning as I was wending my way through a road in JKUAT, I saw a mob of about 200 students charging towards the university officials who were at the graduation square trying to organize a meeting to iron out any differences.

Fortunately, and I say fortunately for a reason I will explain in a while, I didn't bother to hang around to see what would happen next. I just strode past the charging mob, and meandered in the areas on the western side of the university that I had hitherto not explored.

When I came back to the university, I learnt that the usually relaxed main campus of JKUAT had turned into a war zone. The mob that I had left charging towards university officials became more hostile. It went on a rampage during which it smashed glass panes of several university buildings and set a public service vehicle on fire. And when police were called to quell the violence, the rioting students engaged them in running battles.

Following the riot, the university was closed down and students ordered to vacate their residential halls. There was a heavy police presence at JKUAT on the evening of that day the riot happened and in the next few days that followed.

The university reopened a few weeks later. As we reported back to resume our studies, we were each fined a substantial amount of money to cover the damages that rioting students had caused.

After the university reopened, I heard through the grapevine that the police managed to arrest some of the rioting students. Had I therefore been curious to observe what the charging mob would do next on that morning JKUAT students rioted, I would probably have been caught up in the fracas and arrested by the police. That's why I have said it was fortunate that I didn't hang around.

Campus riots in Kenya are usually messy. How one broke out in such a relaxed university as JKUAT is something I didn't get to understand. Also beyond my grasp was how someone could galvanize a mob of more than 200 students into causing such horrendous damages. All I can now say is that on that day JKUAT students rioted, I saw first-hand the psychology of a mob.

Well, I had heard about the power of a mob before. A senior staff member at Starehe Boys' Centre, my high school, had enlightened us that the intelligence of a mob is equal to that of the most stupid person in it. Seeing JKUAT students riot made me realize how true that is.