Why students want afandes to patrol their campuses

Recent wrangle between Kirinyaga University College, the Senate Committee on Education and county officials has raised the question of security within our universities.

University Principal Professor Mary Ndungu has had to face some criticism after the administration closed down the AP police post that had been built a few kilometers from the university.

Mike*, a fourth year Computer Science student at Kirinyaga University College told Campus Vibe that the police post was not even operational, thus the hullabaloo about its closure was unwarranted.

“There is another police base, separate from the one that is being closed down. This is much more accessible, and in any case, it is operational,” Mike said, adding that, “As far as university security is concerned, we are still in good hands.”

The one thing he did not dispute, however, was the importance of the police presence in the university. “In the past, we have had police responding within minutes to issues like student unrest. The very fact that they are regularly patrolling the university helps us feel safe as students.” Most students told Campus Vibe that security officers are there to respond to distress calls any time of day and night, and this ti them is very important.

The concept of campus police is nothing new. Most of our universities have some version of security officers, but these are often stationed at the gates, with minimal influence inside the university. They only venture out to patrol the grounds late at night for drunkards and other minor offenders. Comparatively, most universities in the US and the UK have robust security systems within the institutions. Officers are trained and stationed around the universities where they can be accessed easily.

After the terrorist attack on Garissa University College students in April 2015, and the subsequent relocation of some of their students to Moi University’s main campus, a building that had been a guest house was converted into a police post that is still operational to date.

Other institutions to set up police posts include University of Nairobi’s Malindi campus and Garissa University College itself. Clearly, the idea has some merit.