In Kenya, learning institutions have stipulated laws that every student is expected to adhere to. Failure to do so attracts they various disciplinary measures including punishments, suspensions and expulsion.
Suspensions and expulsions are often associated with gross misconduct like cheating in examinations, participating in riots, drug abuse, theft, violent conduct and arson.
Students who have been expelled are always faced with an unforeseen future as getting another school to be admitted proves an uphill task. This article will feature famous Kenyans who were expelled from learning institutions.
Alex Mwakideu
The renowned radio presenter and businessman had a very difficult upbringing. In a past interview, Mwakideu revealed that he was brought up in a family of 7 sharing a single room.
Due to biting poverty, Mwakideu had a problem with raising his secondary school fees at Shimo La Tewa. However, the school principal was kind enough to allow him study for free because he was a talented actor who won trophies for the school.
All was well until the principal provoked him on various occasions reminding him that he had not paid school fees. Due to the embarrassment, he got infuriated and fought the school head, a matter that got him expelled.
“He was stressing me. He would embarrass me all the time. I would be there going to the dining hall to pick my food and he would be tell me I didn’t pay for the food,” recalls Mwakideu.
Read Also: Alex Mwakideu Biography, Age, Family, Career and Business.
Cyprian Nyakundi
The blogger is known for controversies, something that has amassed him thousands of followers on various social media platforms. When he was admitted to Meru University to pursue actuarial science in 2012, it only took a matter of time before he exposed the university’s administration.
Nyakundi went on social media lamenting that the institution had inadequate facilities, even alleging that the library shelves had outdated books. The matter pricked the administration, and he was suspended for one academic year.
When he got back to school, Nyakundi again revealed dirty allegations of a female student who claimed she had be sexually harassed by one of the lecturers. After he posted on social media, the administration got embarrassed and expelled the blogger for tarnishing the image of the university. Below is the expulsion letter dated 1/4/2014 which led to uproar on social media.
Boniface Mwangi
The photojournalist turned activist is a man who endured a tough upbringing. In his early years, he never got to see his father until he was 14 years old. According to him, he was a defiant, rebellious boy.
Tired of his son’s behavior, the mother transferred Mwangi from a primary school in Nairobi to an upcountry school where he lived with his grandmother. However, the activist later went back to Nairobi after the grandmother once dragged him to a police station because he had declined to go to school.
He reunited with the mother in Nairobi where he recalls living in deplorable conditions. Then one day he got arrested when he had taken a job as a bus sweeper and taken to Kabete Juvenile Remand Home. When his mother showed up, she said Mwangi had become an indisciplined treacherous boy.
“She was tired and had had enough, she told the officer. I had become too cunning and she wanted me to be committed,” Mwangi told Nation.
That was how the Unbounded author found himself attending approved schools meant to correct errant young men. During his time at Kabete Approved School, Mwangi took photos of the pitiful state of the institution and sought to have the then minister for Home Affairs, Shariff Nassir address the issue. The matter was even captured in a leading newspaper publication. This led to Mwangi’s expulsion as ordered by the minister in October 1998.
Also Read: Boniface Mwangi Biography, Age, Background, Career, Family & Bombing
Miguna Miguna
The exiled lawyer is known to possess a giant ego and is described by most Kenyans as a fearless man who speaks his mind. This has been the character of the barrister since his time in University of Nairobi when he served as a student leader.
In 1987, Miguna was expelled because of mobilizing students to advocate for multi-party democracy, a matter that led to unrest in UoN. According to the controversial lawyer, he was also detained, tortured and abducted.
The expulsion letter dated 27/11/1987 reads: “The decision has been necessitated by circumstances very well known to you including failure to comply with the terms of the letter of acceptance signed by you when you were admitted into the university, secondly, failure to abide by regulations governing the conduct and discipline of students at the university and thirdly your involvement in a scheme of student politics designed to disrupt the regular operations of the university.
