By Rodney Alubokho

In the year that has passed, there has been a growing trend in Kenyan universities where romantic relationships between students end fatally. The most tragic among such cases concerned the death of Rita Waeni, who studied at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, her lifeless body was found in a short-term accommodation in the Nairobi suburb of Roysambu. Weeks later came another such incident in Maasai Mara University, where a female student was found dead in an off-campus apartment in circumstances suggestive of intimate partner violence.

These are not isolated incidents. On campuses everywhere, students are struggling with relationships that progress toward controlling, obsessive, and aggressive behaviors. While university life is meant to be an experience of growth, learning, and discovery about themselves, increasingly it is being tainted with relationships based on power struggles, emotional immaturity, and absence of support systems.

It is not the first occasion intimate partner violence in universities has attracted headlines. In the past, attempts have been made to solve the issue. There have been peer counseling schemes in several universities designed to assist students in coping with emotional and psychological distress. In October 2024, “Safer Campuses” was launched by UNESCO, in which wellness centers and gender desks were established to prevent gender violence as well as provide space for survivors to report as well as recover. Campaigns such as “Activate Nairobi” have also been launched to engender gender equality as well as healthy relationship standards among students.

All these measures notwithstanding, reality on the ground is dire. Most students remain in silence due to stigma, victim-blame risk, or mistrust of college authorities. Cultural norms that reinforce male privilege and romantic jealousy keep adding flame to the fire. Most universities are still not equipped with resources as well as qualified staff for the effective management of intimate partner violence cases, while laws protecting the victims as well as their enforcement are not yet consistent.

Given the persistence of such violent attacks, it is clear that more action is necessary. Universities need to do more than just have occasional awareness campaigns as part of their curriculums but include in-depth relationship classes with features such as open discussions about consent, emotional management, and conflict resolution. Counseling departments should be adequately funded and empowered, as should institutional accountability.

If universities will be places of intellectual freedom, growth, and safety, they will need, first of all, to be communities where students are safe in their relationships — not merely in their classrooms.

Rodney is a NAYA youth advocate