Discharge of raw sewage into Nyangores River and failure to supply water for several months by the Bomet County Government led to demonstrations by university students who engaged police in running battles on Tuesday.
The 12,106 students boycotted lectures and held demonstrations in Bomet town, bringing business to a standstill for a good part of the day as shops were hurriedly closed to avert cases of looting and destruction of property.
The students were angered by the death of a first-year student who drowned while fetching water from Nyangores River on Saturday, following the lack of the commodity in their residential estates spread across the outskirts of Bomet town.
Police thwarted efforts by the students to storm the Bomet County headquarters, whose three gates were locked and heavily barricaded, with county security officers remaining inside as police in anti-riot gear blocked the outside.
The students pelted the police with stones as teargas canisters were lobbed at them, with some students picking up the smoking cartridges and throwing them back at officers at the gate of the county headquarters before calm returned.
Bomet University students run as they are engulfed in smoke from an exploded tear gas canister on September 22, 2026, during a demonstration against discharge of raw sewage to Nyangores river and acute water shortages in the town.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai| Nation Media Group
Governor Hillary Barchok was not at the county headquarters at the time, as he was on a development tour of Konoin Constituency, while officers at the offices locked themselves in, with none coming out to address the demonstrating students.
“It is disappointing that the county government has discharged raw sewage into Nyangores River when it is supposed to be protecting the resource and the residents. How can you discharge human waste into the river and put the people at risk of contracting diseases?” Ms Ruth Kemunto Zicco, the president of the University Students Association, said.
Ms Zicco said it was unfortunate that a student died on Saturday by drowning while fetching water from Nyangores River due to a lack of the precious commodity in the residential estates. The student has not been buried, with the body preserved at Longisa County Referral Hospital mortuary.
The shortages were addressed after the Nation carried a story highlighting the challenges faced by patients at the hospital, even as the health facility’s administration sought to cover up the matter.
A caregiver at Longisa County Referral hospital in Bomet county delivering water for use by a patient in this photo taken on July 13, 2026. The hospital has been facing acute water shortages for two weeks, with caregivers forced to source water from local rivers.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation
Mr Francis Obala, the secretary-general of Bomet University Students Association, said during the demonstration that the students and university management had held several meetings with the county government about the lack of water and insecurity due to a lack of security lights in the residential estates.
“We have held several meetings with Governor Barchok and the management of the Bomet Water and Sanitation Company (Bomwasco), but the repeated promises have not been addressed. We are tired and we would not attend any more meetings where no action is taken,” Obala stated.
He said a dam at Chepkosa area should be backfilled by the government as two students have so far died while fetching water or bathing in it.
“The county government has discharged raw sewage into Nyangores River, which is the main source of water for the residents and most of the students who live downstream, exposing them to the risk of contracting cholera and typhoid,” Obala said.
The students issued a seven-day ultimatum to Professor Barchok’s administration to address the issues or face a bigger demonstration, which will include the residents of Bomet town who have been affected for several months.
Bomet University students run as they are engulfed in smoke from an exploded tear gas canister on September 22, 2026, during a demonstration against discharge of raw sewage to Nyangores river and acute water shortages in the town.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai| Nation Media Group
Isaac Aswani, the deputy president of the Students Association, and Ezra James, a student leader, said the students had demonstrated peacefully, but if the issues are not addressed immediately, they will paralyse operations in the town and all county government offices in the next one week.
“A footbridge has not been constructed at Chebirir as promised by the county government and water has not been supplied, with street lights not erected, yet it has become a subject for the last three years. We would not take it any more,” Aswani stated.
Water shortages have been experienced in Bomet town in the last seven years, with the last one year being the worst as the cash-strapped Bomwasco has been unable to supply the commodity to residents.
For one week, a burst sewer line next to the affordable housing units commissioned by President William Ruto two weeks ago discharged raw sewage into Nyangores River, which is the main source of water for the residents.
Bomwasco, a company fully owned by the Bomet County Government, is in charge of water supply, cleanliness in the town, and installation and maintenance of sewer lines.
Mr Kipngetich Towett, Bomwasco’s acting managing director, told the Nation on Monday that the company was repairing the burst sewer line to curb further pollution of the water and the general environment.
He said the company was also working towards restoring normal water supply in the town amid protests by the residents.
The shortage of water, he said, had been aggravated by damage caused to the pipeline during the construction of tarmac roads recently by a contractor contracted by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA).
A hawker fetches water to sell to caregivers of patients at Longisa County Referral Hospital in Bomet County on July 13, 2026.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation
During the demonstration by the students, the water company offices were locked, with police deployed to guard them, as were the county assembly offices, which the students were unable to access.
A meeting between the students’ leadership and the university administration aimed at prevailing upon the learners to engage in dialogue ended in disarray on Tuesday.
The student leaders walked out and led the demonstration after a three-hour meeting, which was also attended by a section of Bomet county officials.
Police officers engaged with Bomet University students on September 22, 2026 during their demonstration against the discharge of raw sewage into Nyangores river and acute water shortages in the town
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai| Nation Media Group
Water vendors have been supplying residents of Bomet town with untreated water from the Nyangores River, exposing locals to the risk of contracting various diseases, with no action being taken by the county government.
Mr Leonard Langat, the chairman of the Bomet chapter of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was unfortunate that the county government had failed to address the issues raised by the business community, residents and students as a result of the water shortages and pollution of the river.
