Wednesday, May 30, 2018, was a sad and tragic moment for University of Nairobi Upper Kabete Campus students after a fire consumed Soweto Hall.
Official statement from Director, Corporate Affairs: The fire broke out at 12.30 pm, at Upper Kabete Campus’ Soweto hostels. There were no casualties. 132 male students property has been destroyed. UoN management is in control of the situation.
As of the release of the statement the cause of the fire had not yet been established.
Various students took to social media to air their views in regards to the fire, Moses Kariuki wrote “The fire event today at upper Kabete shows the deplorable state of affairs in our premier institute of higher learning, there is no disaster management plan . Comrades have been left to live like they are in the jungle. If it happened at night, the story would be different. Mbithi is a big failure to our institute, he can only manage to advise his henchmen to interfere with elections while overlooking comrades critical welfare. We will revisit soon. Meanwhile, all comrades who were occupants of this Hall must be compensated or else we suspend peace. Manyara can continue taking selfies with burning mattress traumatized comrades, we will revisit his selection soon too.”
Most students appealed for compensation from the university management, Marie Anne assured comrades writing “I will follow up to ensure the Soweto Hall fire victims are compensated for all their losses by the University of Nairobi Administration. Compensation is their Right!!! Comrades of the great University of Nairobi let’s fight together for other students rights.
Kuria Maina Said echoed the same “As Comrades’ Secretary-General I will, IN SHAA ALLAH, ensure the administration of the University of Nairobi compensates students who incurred losses today. The fire victims must be compensated. Vice-Chancellor-UoN”
“To the innocent first year… We hope the school compensates you fully. On the other hand… Admin should ensure:-
1. They have a disaster management plan
2. Prefabs and such buildings are replaced with modern hostels
3. The school retains its status quo ”World-class University, committed to scholarly excellence” added Bruno Val
A second statement from the official University of Nairobi twitter handle read “The University management is looking for alternative accommodation for the affected students.”
The University management is looking for alternative accomodation for the affected students.
— UniversityofNairobi (@uonbi) May 30, 2018
