I Ate Chicken Three Times a Week with DP William Ruto at the University of Nairobi

By Kiarie Ranji
Universities nowadays have been turned into dens of mediocrity from the once vibrant havens of best brains.
During our time in the early 1990s, a university student was like a demi-god who was revered and commanded respect from the government and society and for which university students lacked no luxuries.
We were served chicken three times a week for dinner. Beef was a daily item on the menu and chapati’s, popularly known as “dialogue,” were served twice a week. Breakfast consisted of BEST (Bacon, Eggs, Sausages and Toasts) and you ate to your fill.
Students were given ‘boom’ to complete the total comfort and luxury. Imagine by the time I left campus in early 1990, a graduate teacher was earning Sh3,300 per month while a university student was being given Sh3,800 per semester!
Students never relied on their parents and some even paid school fees for their siblings back home.
And on their part, university students did not disappoint. They fearlessly fought dictatorship and any form of injustice.
Tribalism was an unknown phenomenon as all students were ‘comrades.’
My campus mates included, among others, Deputy President William Ruto, Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, Busia Governor Sospeter Ojamong and Mount Kenya University founder Simon Gicheru.
I remember those good old days with a lot of nostalgia.
Kiarie Ranji studied at the University of Nairobi and is now an educationist based in the city.
Source: SDE