Youths clash with police during protest over bullying of student

 

A student allegedly being bullied in a nightclub in Nairobi. [Courtesy]

Youths protested outside Redeemed gospel church in Buru Buru in Nairobi to demand justice for Jahenda, days after a video showing her being bullied in a club restroom went viral on social media.

The protesters said the incident amounts to gender-based harassment and called for prosecution of the culprits.

“The reason why I’m speaking is because of gender. We need justice,” said Tatiana, one of the protesters.

 “You can’t just harass a woman. You can’t just hit her, and then you guys are laughing about it. That’s not your thing,” she added.

Tatiana said Jahenda had been traumatised by what she described as a betrayal by people she considered friends.

She said the protesters chose to demonstrate outside the church because a parent of one of those allegedly involved is a congregant. “We don’t want to fight or anything. We’re just here for justice,” she said.

The protesters accused police of protecting the church instead of pursuing those they say should be investigated.

Youth activist Sankale alleged that police had failed to arrest one of the women seen in the viral video and claimed some protesters had been detained inside the church compound. “The police have failed to arrest the girl who is the reason we are here today,” he said.

What began as a peaceful demonstration outside the church turned chaotic after police lobbed tear gas canisters and fired in the air to disperse the protesters and allow faithful who were trapped in the church to leave.

Protesters scattered before regrouping again.

The Church leadership has, however, maintained that the confrontation captured in the viral video did not take place on its premises and the matter was linked to a congregant, not the church leadership.

In a statement, the church condemned the bullying of Jahenda and said it was not opposed to the protesters' call for justice, but to demonstrations being staged at its gates rather than at the institutions where the act took place.

Church representatives have previously said a parent of one of the women in the video had reported the matter to Lang'ata Police Station and that investigations were ongoing, urging protesters to allow the law to take its course rather than direct pressure at the congregation.

Meanwhile, Riara University, where some of those seen in the video are reportedly enrolled, has opened an internal review but has not announced any disciplinary action. No arrests or formal charges against the women seen in the viral video have been confirmed.