As Kenyatta University students participated in the second round of protests in less than a week, a portion of Thika Road was made impassable.
In protest of loan delays, the students blocked both sides of the busy roadway, rendering the area around the university unreachable.
Drivers were consequently forced to look for alternate routes because they could not use the overpass on their journey to Thika.
Since then, it has come to light that the protests were the result of a number of students who were upset over the delays in the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loan payment.
Tens of students were seen marching on the busy highway in videos that were obtained; some of them insisted that they were going to storm Anniversary Towers to ask about the status of the HELB loan.
Since the demonstrations caused significant traffic jams that extended from the Githurai 44 region to Kenyatta University, drivers have been encouraged to look for alternate routes.
Notably, students from the esteemed university demonstrated in the streets for the second time in less than a week.
Students protested in the streets on Monday, January 27, after the school had been without electricity for almost a week. The mass action has since resulted in the restoration of power.
On Monday, students at Egerton University gave HELB a 12-hour ultimatum to release funding. A portion of University of Nairobi students have also been known to march to Anniversary Towers in an attempt to learn why HELB loan delays are occurring.
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a widespread problem with delayed loans. Students enrolled in TVET and university programs under the Higher Education Loans Board’s (HELB) New Funding Model have been complaining that they have not yet received their tuition and maintenance loans.
When they log into the Higher Education Financing Portal, many students claim that their applications are listed as “Still Running” or “Verified,” with little to no progress made thereafter.
