University of Nairobi students have threatened to go on a protest over the lack of water in their hostels. This comes at a time when some students have gone without a constant supply of water in their hostels for more than two weeks.
On Monday, the University of Nairobi Students Association (UNSA) gave the administration six hours to address the problem once repair work on the water supply starts.
The students claim that the situation in their hostels is not easy to stay in, considering that the lack of constant access to water is one of the problems affecting the students.
“Water is a basic need, and staying this long without it is not acceptable,” said the student body, which threatened to escalate the level of protest over the issue.
On Sunday night, some students took to University Way, setting bonfires and barricading some parts of the road in protest. They extended the protests to other roads, such as Uhuru Highway and State House Road.
The police later came in to restore order and open the roads.
In the hostels, the situation is getting worse by the day. Some of the washrooms have been out of use due to blocked drains.
The women’s hostels are the worst affected. Those in hostels 12, 13, and 20 have cited that they are having a hard time coping.
In some cases, the situation has been worsened by floods. This has been caused by the rains.
The students want a permanent solution to the problem, even though the university has provided water tankers to help solve the problem on a short-term basis.
The shortage was caused by the damaged infrastructure. This is according to the university. Repair works are expected to commence.
The shortage has also been caused by a burst pipeline by the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.
