Tension remains high at the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Techology (RVIST) Nakuru Campus following serious violence involving rival camps that participated in student elections concluded on Friday, March 6.
The clashes began moments after the election results were announced in the evening on March 6, and spilled over to Saturday, March 7, leaving several students injured and in need of medical attention - several images of students bleeding from various parts of their bodies were shared widely to the horror of social media users.
Police were forced to intervene and have been stationed at the campus since Friday, at times firing teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the students.
Sources who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke at the institution revealed how the situation had degenerated even as they called for the school administration to take action.
"Students had created various political groupings and community alliances before the elections. The violence began after the results were announced at around 4 or 5 p.m.
"Timothy Kibet was announced as the new president of the student union. Soon after, the rival camps that had been campaigning for different candidates started clashing.
"It was really bad. People, even women, were being attacked with rungus, arrows and knives," stated Peter Korir, who was elected in the same polls as a delegate to represent 'day-scholars' at the institution.
Images shared on social media showed students having sustained various cuts and other injuries as a result of the violence.
Police officers were dispatched to the campus on Friday night and managed to calm the situation before it again erupted on Saturday, March 7.
They fired in the air to disperse large groups of students, sending them scampering for safety in various places.
Members of the rival camps organised a reconciliatory meeting to chart the way forward later on Saturday, in a bid to stop the escalation of the violence.
"We really didn't want it to become like national politics where violence involving different communities is normal.
"It has been calm since the meeting but we still don't know the way forward," Korir revealed.
Police presence remained high at the institution on Sunday, March 8, as students awaited an announcement from the university administration.
Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya was unavailable for comment on the matter when contacted by Kenyans.co.ke.
Korir revealed that university officials were holed up in a meeting with security officials even as he expressed fears that the school may be closed.
"Right now we are waiting to receive official communication from the administration. We have still not heard from the administration.
"They are in a meeting with the security team right now. We expect them to tell us whether they will be closing the school," he stated.
EDITOR'S NOTE: We could not publish the graphic images of the injured students out of ethical considerations.
Watch a video of students scampering for safety after police fired in the air at the institution:
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