On February 10, 1985, President Daniel Arap Moi visited the University of Nairobi (UoN) to attend a ceremony for National Youth Service (NYS) graduates. During that time Student Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU) Chairman was Mwandawiro Mghanga.
During that time, the Student Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU) Chairman was Mwandawiro Mghanga.
After completing the training, the President, who was also the Chancellor of all universities, would attend the ceremony to watch the students graduate and inspect a guard of honour made up of them.
Officers from the General Service Unit (GSU), Kenya Army, Navy, and Air Force were also present in a separate parade, waiting for President Moi to inspect their parade.
Meanwhile, the Student Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU) Chairman, Mwandawiro Mghanga, was gathering university students on the football pitch. This gathering was a protest against the Moi government, showing that the NYS training had not swayed the students’ determination.
Mwandawiro Mghanga Arrested
To symbolise their resistance, students organised a guard of honour with the first NYS graduates, who wore their uniforms.
As SONU chairman, Mghanga was set to inspect this guard, a move that challenged the government’s authority by imitating official state ceremonies. Just five days earlier, on February 5, 1985, Mghanga and three other students had been expelled from the university, while five others lost their scholarships with no explanation.
The students supported their leaders by boycotting classes for a week and demanding Mghanga’s reinstatement. The guard of honour was a key part of this protest, showing that students would not be intimidated.
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Mwandawiro Mghanga stepped forward to inspect the guard of honour before President Moi’s arrival, but the inspection was short-lived as GSU and Special Branch police arrested him for “sedition against the lawfully elected government.”
During the arrest, a stampede broke out, resulting in the death of one student, Joseph Wandera, and injuries to over 50 others.
After his arrest, Mghanga went to Buru Buru police station, where he faced physical abuse, starvation, and psychological mistreatment. He and five other students were charged with holding an illegal meeting.
Bernard Chunga prosecuted them, with guidance from Attorney General Matthew Guy Muli, and Mghanga was sentenced to one year in Kamiti Maximum Prison.
Former SONU Chairman Arrested Again
After serving his sentence, Mwandawiro was arrested again on April 3, 1986, in Werugha for allegedly being involved with the Mwakenya Movement.
During this time, he was taken to Nyayo House, where he was tortured, including beatings, being forced to do naked press-ups, and being held in waterlogged cells. Mghanga was charged with sedition again and sentenced to five years in prison. He initially stayed in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison before being moved to Kibos Maximum Security Prison after nine months.
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After his release, Mwandawiro fled to Sweden as a political refugee. He then enrolled as a postgraduate student at Stockholm University for his master’s degree, followed by a master’s in agricultural sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
After the end of the KANU regime, he returned to Kenya, ran for the Wundanyi parliamentary seat and served as a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2007.
In January 2016, the High Court awarded Mwandawiro Ksh. 10 million as compensation for his unlawful detention in the torture chambers at Nyayo House.
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