SEKU refutes claims of students' unrest, says impostor spoke to media

The South Eastern Kenya University in Kitui. [SEKU]

South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) has dismissed reports of students' unrest as false and misleading, saying the university is running smoothly and peacefully.

The reports, which were broadcasted by several media outlets including Citizen TV and K24 TV on Saturday, September 23, 2023, claimed that the students had been on strike for two weeks over the delay in appointing a new Vice-Chancellor.

However, the SEKU council and the acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Francis Wachira issued a joint statement on Sunday, September 24, 2023, refuting the allegations and condemning the media houses for airing unverified information.

They said the person who spoke to the media as a student leader was an impostor who had no affiliation with SEKU.

The two said the genuine student leader, Mr. Tonny Muvengei, had confirmed that there was no strike or protest at the university and that the students were attending classes as usual.

"The students of SEKU are ably represented by the South Eastern Kenya University Students Association (SEKUSA) currently chaired by Mr. Tonny Muvengei, the duly elected and bona fide chairman of SEKUSA. Indeed, the Students' Governing Council of SEKUSA also condemns in the strongest terms the false reports as they can potentially disrupt learning and teaching," the statement read.

The statement also clarified that SEKU was undergoing a smooth transition following the end of the tenure of the former Vice-Chancellor and that Prof Wachira had been appointed as the acting Vice-Chancellor since May 20, 2023 by the university council.

"We wish to confirm that indeed there has been no vacuum as the university council fully exercised its mandate and appointed Prof Francis Wachira as the acting Vice-Chancellor since May 20, 2023 and the university has been functioning normally and optimally ever since," the statement added.

"We want to once again assure and reassure all students, parents, the SEKU community stakeholders and the general public that there is no unrest of any kind at SEKU and there has never been any since it was granted its charter as a public university in 2013."