Students from various universities in Nairobi on Thursday morning staged demonstrations to protest the prolonged lecturers' strike, which they claim has disrupted learning activities countrywide.
While protesting along State House Road and near the University of Nairobi (UoN) hostels, the agitated learners blocked the road using stones and lit bonfires.
Videos and images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed the students hoisting placards and twigs as they marched through the road in an attempt to seek an audience with President William Ruto.
During the demonstrations, student leaders urged the Ministry of Education to urgently address the ongoing lecturers' strike, which is now in its sixth week.
The students claim that the industrial action has immensely affected their education and future ambitions, with the learners pledging to continue with the protests until the government addresses the stalemate.
As the demonstrations escalated, a contingent of police officers was dispatched to the scene to quell the situation, which had begun getting out of hand.
Attempts by the police to calm the students proved futile as the adamant learners continued with their pursuit, forcing the officers to lob tear gas canisters in a bid to disperse the protesting learners.
Footage further showed students and police officers engaging in heated battles with learners scampering for safety as the law enforcement officers lobbed tear gas canisters in the air.
The protests came a day after a section of student leaders in Nairobi threatened to stage a major demonstration should the government fail to address the lecturers' strike by Thursday, October 30.
The student leaders, led by UoN Student Leader Derrick Troy, urged the government to establish a quick and lasting solution and ensure that lecturers receive their pay.
"We are giving you 24 hours to compensate our injured comrades and pay our lecturers; failure to which on Thursday, we will demonstrate," said Derrick.
"The students are in a state of dilemma; they are unable to learn, and we demand that to be in class. Too much peace is dangerous; we will be on the streets," noted Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student leader Jeroboam Odhiambo.
