Three Kisumu National Polytechnic students are nursing serious injuries after a gang attacked them yesterday.
The students were coming from their rented hostels in Nyalenda slums at around 4am when the knife-wielding gang ambushed them.
The hostel, about a kilometre from the institution, houses 72 students. The victims are among more than 300 sponsored by the National Youth Service (NYS).
Police had to be called in to quell tension at the institution as students threatened protests over what they termed increased cases of insecurity at the hostel.
The police also managed to foil a retaliatory attack the students had planned against residents of Nyalenda-Kachok, where the hostel is located.
Students said the three victims were members of the Christian Union who were scheduled to travel for a prayer rally in Kitale. They had planned to depart from school at 5am.
“They woke up early and prepared for their trip. They made calls to their colleagues who live in the school compound who confirmed that they were ready to begin the journey,” said Bernard Onyango, a student.
He said the other students heard wails just minutes after the three had left the hostel.
The attackers are said to have demanded money and mobile phones. When the students resisted, they wrestled them to the ground and stabbed them with knives.
Electrical engineering
The victims were identified as electrical engineering student Josepeter Mugambi, and Geoffrey Macharia and Kennedy Mutai who are studying automotive engineering.
"We responded swiftly and the attackers fled. We took our colleagues to Kisumu County Hospital,” said Samwel Mukhwana, another student.
He accused the school managers of ‘dumping’ them in a hostel deep in the slum, which he said was prone to insecurity.
College principal Joyce Nyanjom declined to comment on the incident.
“I will address that matter during official working hours tomorrow,” she told reporters.
Omondi Tuju, who is in charge of NYS in the county, said: “We have received the report and we will address the matter with the institution."
Students later stormed out of the hostel and demanded that they be allowed to live inside the institution grounds.
"There have been five such incidents since the start of the year. We have complained but the administration has ignored us,” said Mukhwana.
