Moi University students unimpressed by ‘tribal wars’

Students from Moi University are unhappy after local county politicians, led by Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago showed up at the university to protest the appointment of Professor Laban Ayiro as the acting Vice Chancellor.

Some members of the local community were vocal in their calls to have a VC who was ‘not an outsider’. This prompted negative reactions from the public, with many of them criticizing the politicians and the actions which were seen as tribal. Students at the university have added to the conversation by ridiculing the tribal politics, which they see as irrelevant and backward.

Kipyegon Brian, a fifth year Civil and Structural Engineering student, acknowledges that the matter is tribal in nature, and sees no place for it in the university.

“In this day and time, it is surprising to still hear arguments being made about tribe, when it should really be about who can do the job best,” he told Campus Vibe.

“The politics is there, but it should not affect the graduation. We have all worked very hard to get to this point, so it is only right that we graduate as planned,” said David Abuor, a graduate hopeful from the School of Arts and Social Sciences after it emerged that the locals were planning to disrupt the graduation ceremony.

Moi University Students Organization (Muso) Chairman Towett Ngetich said the university management met with student leaders to discuss the issue. They urged the administration to make public the results of the interviews that had been held recently for the position of Vice Chancellor, and to appoint the most qualified candidate.

“Moi University, we believe, is an institution of repute; one that has survived for years and has never been affected by tribalism. It is the students’ desire that it never becomes tribal, to ensure students from all over the nation get a chance to study.”