Student Leaders Rally Raila for Friday Protests
On Thursday, a collective of student leaders proclaimed without reservation their intention to organize nationwide protests across all universities as a means of voicing their opposition to the exorbitant cost of living.
The student leaders declared during a meeting with Azimio leaders, which included the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, Raila Odinga, that the Friday demonstrations would proceed as scheduled.
Additionally, they observed that the opposition had retreated in its efforts to spearhead the protests and urged the legislators to follow suit.
‘‘We are inviting you to come and demonstrate with us on Friday,’’ a student leader representative requested at the round table held in Nairobi.
Additionally, the student leaders revealed their intention to organize demonstrations in opposition to the prevailing university funding model, which they vocally denounced.
The government unveiled the Higher Education Financing (HEF) Portal, a model that Education CS Ezekiel Machogu executed two months after President William Ruto’s May 2023 announcement in which funds will be transferred directly to students.
University students insisted that the government maintain the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and demanded a review of the model.
Additionally, delayed capitation and school insecurity were mentioned as concerns.
One of the opposition leaders who expressed support for the demonstrations scheduled for Friday was Babu Owino, the Member of Parliament for Embakasi East.
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Babu Owino asserts that a considerable proportion of prospective students had not yet matriculated into universities due to the obstacles presented by the novel financing model, which he characterized as unfavorable and discriminatory.
‘Student leaders do not carry the government’s cross,” the Embakasi East MP warned.
”Let the demonstrations be done just outside the gate of all the universities simultaneously, then you repeat the same within a month. You will get the results you need,” he added.
In addition to commenting on the cost of living, former prime minister Raila Odinga accused the government of disregarding his counsel.
”We told these people several times, you are in the hole. Don’t continue to dig. You saw how the members of parliament fought very hard against the tax bill because hiked taxes do not offer any solution,” Raila noted.
“We shall address the matters that fall within our jurisdiction,” he further stated but refrained from addressing the anticipated protests.
The matter of whether the student leaders had obtained police permits to conduct the demonstrations remained uncertain at this time.
Student Leaders Rally Raila for Friday Protests