Kenyatta University has been closed indefinitely following student unrest

A Facebook post claiming that Kenyatta University has been closed indefinitely due to student unrest is TRUE.

The post adds that the university was closed after a student riot that lasted two days.

In a memo shared on October 8, KU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Paul Wainaina announced the indefinite closure of the institution and directed all students to leave the university with immediate effect.

Prof. Wainana said that the university senate had decided to close the institution indefinitely following two days of student unrest that resulted in the destruction of property and disruption of lectures.

On October 7, KU students held demonstrations over the university administration’s refusal to extend the deadline for fee payment beyond October 9.

A memo shared by KUSA chair Joshua Ayika with a memo dated October 7 stated that the protests would go on until all the student grievances were addressed, including a demand for Vice-Chancellor Wainaina to resign, allegedly due to poor leadership from the university’s management.

Ayika confirmed that the demonstration was over the deadline of October 9 for fee payment, stating that the students demanded an extension.

PesaCheck has looked into the claim that Kenyatta University has been closed indefinitely due to student unrest and finds it to be TRUE.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

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This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Researcher James Okong’o, was edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor Ann Ngengere and was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi.