University student leaders across Kenya have once again come under heavy criticism and focus, following sharp comments made by social media activist Cynthia Zion.
In a post that has since sparked heated discussion, Cynthia called out the silence and perceived incompetence of student leaders, accusing them of abandoning the very students they were elected to represent.
“Nowadays universities are full of useless and stupid student leaders,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, 23 July 2025. “You will never hear them boldly speaking on lacking fees or HELB. They only speak after being fed by corrupt politicians.”
Her words were not polished. They were raw. But for many struggling students, they rang painfully true.
Just days before her post, a group of university leaders had assembled in Nairobi, facing cameras with carefully worded statements. They declared their support for opposition leader Hon Raila Odinga’s call for a national dialogue, framing it as a youth-backed, intergenerational conversation to fix the nation’s issues.
A Student leader speaks to the media outside UoN. Photo: NTV Kenya Source: X
But back on campus, reality was different. HELB delays had left thousands unsure of whether they would sit exams. Capitation money was still stuck in government offices. Rent arrears were piling up. Some students were skipping meals, while others walked long distances because they couldn’t afford bus fare.
The contrast between their polished appearance and the students’ lived experience was jarring.
Student leadership in Kenya was once a powerful force. In the past, names like James Orengo, Kabando wa Kabando and Babu Owino stood on podiums, braving police batons and tear gas to speak against injustice. Today, that fire seems to have dimmed or been put out.
Some say the problem started the moment student leadership became about photos and handshakes rather than protest and sacrifice. Others believe the rot is deeper than university administrations and political parties have quietly reshaped student politics into a tool of control.
Cynthia’s X post may have been blunt, even offensive to some. But it also peeled back the polite silence that has covered the growing disconnection between students and their supposed representatives.
In this silence, the real stories remain untold. Stories of eviction. Of students sleeping in libraries. Of classes missed because HELB never came. And of leaders who were once comrades, but now speak only when called upon by power.
