Category: Campus News

By Muhanguzi Tola

tolakofa1@gmail.com

The Daystar community is this morning mourning the death of senior lecturer and researcher, Dr. Solomon Nzyuko.

Dr. Nzyuko died on Tuesday morning at the Marter Hospital, according to the university chaplaincy, who confirmed his death to the community.

“Our University has suffered a terrible loss following the death of our colleague…which occurred today, Tuesday 6 April,” read a statement from the Chaplaincy.

Members of the Daystar community have since sent out their condolences, describing the deceased as a true servant of God.

“A true servant of God and a man of integrity. A true elder who desired to serve God with everything he touched. God rest his soul in eternal peace,” said Mrs. Phyllis Mutua, the institution’s Finance Manager.

Daystar Christian Fellowship (DCF) chair, Moses Tibagye describes his death as a deep loss to the institution, as he called on God to comfort and console his family.

“It is a deep loss for the University. The rate at which we are losing people we love is devastating. It is never a good time to lose a loved one but I pray that God shall be the peace to the bereaved family,” said Moses.

DUSA Council president Aloys Otieno described the deceased as a dedicated servant leader, who served students with dedication and excellence.

“On behalf of the entire student body, I wish to pass our sincere condolences to the family. We will remember them in prayer,” wrote Aloys.

Prior to his death, Dr. Nzyuko served as the Director for the Daystar Leadership and Professional Development Institute (DLPDI). He was also a project officer with African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayiro will this morning lead the Daystar community in special prayers dedicated to the deceased’s family. The prayers are scheduled to start at 9, at Valley Road’s DAC auditorium.

By Muhanguzi Tola

tolakofa1@gmail.com

The congress elections for hostel representatives have been rescheduled to April 2, to pave way for the schools’ congress elections which take place today.

Through a communication sent by Vice Chair Eizabeth Waudo to the respective aspirants, the electoral commission states that this will prevent students from getting registered twice- voting twice in the process.

“Residence will be on Friday to avoid people voting twice. For example, I’m in school of communication and I stay in DUPA, the link allows you to vote once and just for your school,” reads the message.

According to the message, only students registered in the on-campus hostels shall participate in these elections.

The message was not well received by some the aspirants, who have called out the commission for its incompetence in how it’s conducting the elections.

“They’re not competent because they sent this communication last night, yet we were prepared for the elections today…They had also informed us that we shall be voted for by residence assistants but have now changed this too,” decried Eunice Siameto, an aspirant for the position.

Involvement Newspaper has reached out to the commission, who have yet to respond to the allegations raised against it.

The other aspirants for the position include Juliet Muturi, John Mathu and Sharon Mwaura.

Elsewhere, the schools’ elections will proceed as planned, with results being expected to start flowing in later in the day. Students have been requested to activate their Emails for the purposes of accessing the voting link, with voting scheduled to run from 8:00AM till 9PM.

“Kindly note that with an inactive E-mail, you’ll not be able to access the link to vote. This is a matter of URGENCY for you to be able to practise your democratic right,” read a statement from the commission.

By Muhanguzi Tola

tolakofa1@gmail.com

DUSA council aspirant Walter Nalwa has advised congress members and students to remain woke and vote in leaders who not only listen to them, but also understand their grievances.

The campus secretary (Governor) candidate urged congress aspirants and other students to consider who they put in power, during a meeting between members from his camp and the students today at the Athi River campus.   

“We need to think whether we need services or we need someone who doesn’t understand our problems,” said Walter, stating that some positions such as Secretary General are key and require a leader from the main campus.

The candidate further stated that actualization of requests by leaders based in the main campus happens promptly.

His remarks were echoed by council vice chair candidate Monicah Gitau, who advised the students to choose leaders they can relate with.

“We need people who value you students…There are some people who are only waiting to convince you through a meeting or a debate,” said Monica, taking a dig at candidates who have never been to the campus for campaigns.

Presidential candidate Ian Agina however believes that intellect is key in choosing leaders, but shares Walter’s sentiments that indeed the Sec Gen office requires operation from Athi.

“…Sec general is an important position that not only requires its headquarters in Athi but a very intellectual mind,” said Ian.

Interim sports secretary Barrack Khaseke was also present during Walter’s address, and has insisted that congress aspirants need to be very independent. He further stated that it’s not about power, but provision of resources to students, hence the importance of giving the congress a chance to make their own decision.

By Muhanguzi Tola

tolakofa1@gmail.com

DUSA presidential candidate Ian Agina has decried the lack of communication from the Electoral Commission that left him and two other candidates stranded at the Valley Road campus.

“My Vice chairperson, Spencer Okombo, Secretary General, Desmond Mwyne and I camped in valley road campus waiting for the Debate today since morning only for there to be no debate,” reads a statement from the candidate.

The three were part of the team supposed to participate in the cancelled DUSA elections debate that had been scheduled to take place from 2PM at the campus.

The debate’s main aim was to offer a platform for the aspirants to air out their manifesto to the rest of the student body. The three, just like the rest of the candidates were “very eager to share our vision with fellow students of what leadership would look like if we are elected in a free and fair process.”

The reason behind the cancellation of the debate is yet to be officially communicated to students, except for a poster doing rounds on social media. This then raises questions over the preparedness of ECD to conduct the elections. In his statement, Ian further criticised the commission’s failure to issue specific dates for the election process.

“…Another is lack of official communication on the dates of elections leaving both students and candidates for these posts with more questions than answers.”

Involvement Newspaper understands that some officials from the current DUSA council were not pleased with the organisers’ decision not to involve them in the planning. The mentioned officials were against the panel of moderators selected to run the event. This, according to a reliable source is the main reason why the debate had to be ‘postponed’.

Involvement Newspaper has further reached out to ECD, who have yet to respond to our queries.

More to follow…

By: Scott Muriuki

(scottimuriuki@gmail.com)

The local community around Daystar University including students rallied together on Friday night outside the school gate and set up roadblocks to prevent lorries from passing.

This action was taken after a section of residents who were walking along the road almost got hit by one of the lorries.

This also comes after the residents recently protested to have the lorries stopped from using the road, citing over speeding, overloading and reckless driving.

Local police arrived at the scene to disband the crowd as well as to remove the roadblocks that they said were illegally set up.

Officer Commanding Police Post, John Mutua, assured the protestors that their issues had been raised to the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) and that they would be addressed soon.

Daniel Mutisya Nzioki, who was the community’s representative, said that they had become “tired of the reckless driving done by the lorry drivers” who were endangering the lives of the locals.

Apart from damaging vehicles, motorists complained that the sand being poured on the tarmac road makes it difficult to drive.

The residents and students from Daystar demanded that the lorries be stopped from using the road especially since they are not allowed to.

They also complained that the road limits were not adhered to since the lorries go against the speed and weight limit of the road.

Motorists and boda boda operators alike complained about the speed the lorries drove at especially at corners and on the rough roads.

After about two hours of confrontation, the lorry drivers were finally able to resume their operations.  

By Muhanguzi Tola

tolakofa1@gmail.com

The Electoral Commission of Daystar (ECD) today held a meeting with DUSA council and congress aspirants at the Athi River campus to address election guidelines.

Among the issues addressed in the meeting chaired by ECD CEO Michael Mwanza were voter bribery, character defamation during the campaign period, the calendar of events and voter education on the upcoming elections.

The commission promised to send out communication on how the whole voting process shall be conducted. This is necessitated by the ‘silence of the constitution’ in critical aspects such as how the congress votes for the Governor’s seat aspirants.

“We will liaise with the current DUSA officials on the constitution amendments then send out information to students explaining how voting will be done,” said Michael Mwanza.

The commission has also released a calendar of events for the voting process. According to it, the campaign period that was scheduled to begin yesterday will take seven days after which congress elections immediately begin.

However, the commission has revised the calendar, making changes to the campaign period, which is now scheduled to begin on March 19.

The commission will also spearhead a debate session next week where the aspirants will air out their manifesto and address questions from students.

The commissioner’s vice-chair- Elizabeth Waudo, who was also in attendance, commended the team for the smooth two-day vetting process that took place at the Athi- River campus.

“The vetting was competitive and aspirants were up to per. For some, it was the GPA that disqualified them while others had not completed the mandated hours,” said Elizabeth.

The vice chair further promised students a free and fair election process which shall involve all the required parties.

“As the committee, we believe in accountability and fairness, and that is how we shall conduct the process,” continued Elizabeth.

However, the commission’s handling of the elections and vetting process was questioned during the meeting. Among the issues raised by the aspirants include disqualification of aspirants who had all the necessary requirements, DUSA’s direct involvement in the electoral process and the lack of clarity in constitution matters.

“I don’t understand why a sitting government should be part of an electoral process. For a free and fair process, we should disassociate DUSA from elections completely,” said Ian Agina, an aspirant vying for the council chair seat.