Twenty one students of Moi University, Eldoret, were injured on Wednesday while escaping from a hostel after an electric switch blew up.
The students scampered for safety after hearing a loud bang, some jumping out of windows in fear of a terror attack.
The incident affected students in hostels D and G.
Police officers based at the university and emergency teams attended to students who
sustained cuts and bruises.
Eleven of those injured were taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Hospital director
Wilson Aruasa said only 10 of the students had serious injuries.
Uasin Gishu police commander Muchungu Nyagah said calm was restored at the university but that an investigation was launched.
“Police are on the ground investigating the incident but initial investigations indicate an electrical problem led to the blast,” he said.
The university admitted students from Garissa University College following an attack by al Shabaab fighters that left 147 students dead.
“We believed it was a terrorist attack and could not take chances. We had to use all means possible to save our lives,” said a student named Paul Oturi.