
University student leaders have warned the government about a planned wave of protests across Kenyan universities in response to the rising cases of abductions and delays in lecturers’ salaries.
During a press conference hosted by the Kenya University Students Association (KUSA), the student leaders criticized the government for its failure to address the increasing abductions targeting Kenyan youth, the majority of whom are their fellow students.
KUSA, led by Teddy Omin Osano, announced that the protests will begin on January 15 when universities reopen.
“Revolution is the voice of the unheard, revolution is the voice of the silenced majority. We are announcing that when universities resume, including the lecturers and staff, we will stage demonstrations throughout Kenya,” Osano declared.

The students expressed disappointment over the government’s lack of action regarding the abductions, which have caused immense suffering for many families.
They also revisited the idea of taking the abduction cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the Rome Statute.
“The Constitution of Kenya 2010, in Articles 29 and 49, clearly states that abductions are illegal. International Criminal Law also recognizes this and provides a provision for such cases to be tried at the ICC,” Osano explained.
Furthermore, the students stated that they would push the government during the protests to pay the outstanding salary arrears owed to university staff.
KUSA urged all university students nationwide to join in large numbers and disrupt key business activities to send a strong message to the relevant authorities.
This new wave of protests follows the failure of a planned demonstration on January 6, which was prevented by police efforts to block the organisers’ attempts to mobilize in Nairobi’s central business district.
Prior to the unsuccessful protest, Nairobi Regional Police boss Adamson Bungei told Kenyans.co.ke that the police would not allow the demonstrations as they had not received official notification.
“We cannot react to anything that is not official. Nothing is official so far. What we know is that those on social media are just keyboard warriors,” Bungei said.
On the same day, five Kenyans who had been abducted—including Gideon Kibet, Bernard Kavuli, Peter Muteti, Billy Mwangi, and Ronny Kiplangat—were released at different times.