Nairobi, September 17 — Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna was blocked from entering the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Karen campus on Thursday, where he had been scheduled to address students at the university’s inaugural forum on law, policy and governance.
Sifuna said the student leadership had invited him to speak, but the event was abruptly cancelled and he was denied access on arrival. “We came to JKUAT Karen on the invitation of the student leadership for their Inaugural Law, Policy and Governance forum, but the Administration has abruptly ‘cancelled’ the event and denied us access to the institution. Totally uncalled for,” he said.
A university official told waiting students the forum had been postponed over concerns about potential unrest. “We don’t want students to cause chaos. We have postponed the meeting; then we will invite them again later,” the official said, also citing the absence of several professors as a factor.
The exact circumstances behind the cancellation remained unclear, with JKUAT’s administration yet to publicly name the official who ordered it or provide a new date for the forum.
Sifuna condemned what he described as a pervasive climate of fear surrounding public events, and said he would invite the JKUAT student leadership to the Senate to continue the discussion. “There is just fear everywhere…but a bold new generation must rise and reclaim their country,” he said.