Police use tear gas to disperse protesting Thika students

Students from the Thika Technical Institute protest over alleged graft and insecurity at the college. PHOTO |MARY WAMBUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • On Tuesday, the students staged a protest in the school that turned chaotic as they pulled down sign boards and blocked a road.

  • This forced motorists heading to Garissa road to use alternative routes.

Police in Thika used tear gas to disperse protesting Thika Technical Training Institute students on Tuesday morning.

The students were protesting alleged mismanagement of the institution's funds leading to inadequate facilities, increased insecurity, lack of sufficient clean water and other issues.

Led by their president Joseph Kiarie, the students, said they have held four meetings with the school's management since 2015 when they started experiencing the challenges but so far there has been no solution.

BOARD

The students want the institution's board of management dissolved and a new one constituted to attend to the students' needs.

Daniel Mbugua, student leader in charge of health and environment, said students are living in constant fear of thieves who regularly raid the institution.

The students alleged a section of the fence at the school is destroyed making them vulnerable to intruders.

"We have been requesting for a perimeter wall to curb the robberies but that has not been responded to since 2015. Our classrooms have no window panes and some sections are divided by cardboards. We want to see these issues addressed," said Mbugua.

On Tuesday, the students staged a protest in the school that turned chaotic as they pulled down sign boards and blocked a road.

This forced motorists heading to Garissa road to use alternative routes.