University Student's Message To Ruto Over Grabbed Land Tickles Kenyans: "Comrades Sleeping On Trees"

• The Technical University of Kenya student, Tony Blair Onyango, hilariously said that the students who lack accommodation in the city spend their nights on trees
• Kirera Muchoki, the university president, stated that President William Ruto had handed over the land to the university to put up hostels
• According to Muchoki, another entity occupied the space before the university could utilise it, leaving them in the dark

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

The Technical University of Kenya's (TUK) student has claimed that students spend dark and frosty nights on trees due to a lack of affordable hostels occasioned by alleged land grabbing.

What does Onyango know about TUK's promised land?

Tony Blair Onyango disclosed that the land on which hostels were to be erected had been grabbed, despite President William Ruto's promise to hand it over to the university.

He accused the president of not honouring his promise, hence making life more difficult for students who could not afford accommodation in the city.

"President Ruto promised to give TUK a parcel of land, only to realise that it was a lie. We have comrades who are sleeping on trees; they do not have somewhere to sleep. But we have somebody generating income from the land that was supposed to be given to us," Onyango outcries.

Onyango's hilarious comment caught other students unaware, making them burst into laughter during a live presser.

TUK president says promise was fulfilled

However, Kirera Muchoki, the varsity's student leader, contradicted this by spelling out that the president kept his promise and granted a publicly requested request. Unfortunately, another entity occupied the site before they could construct the hostels.

"The land was handed to us by the President, but to our knowledge, there is another entity that is holding it up, so the President didn't necessarily lie. In fact, I was the one who made the request publicly," Muchoki clarified.

The learning institution now wants Ruto to intervene and solve the tussle. In addition, the student urged the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate the land in question.

The railway company also cited ownership of the land.

MP Wanyonyi protests grabbing of school land

In November 2022, Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi led demonstrations over the grabbing of Bohra Primary School land.

According to Wanyonyi, the alleged grabbers had presented fake documentation and were already constructing a wall blocking pupils from the classroom section funded by Westlands NGCDF.

“We have been resisting the same land-grabbing cartels, where a number of private developers are laying claim to a portion of the school land. The cartels have presented unverified documents of ownership to the police, but I have been able to obtain and present a valid court order,” he stated.