By: Gertrude Prosper
The Daystar University Students Association (DUSA) Secretary General Desmond Mwyne was summoned to appear at a hearing before the Congress on 18 October 2022 in Athi River, main campus.
The purpose was to address an offensive comment he posted on his social media, insulting D.U students. He was summoned by the council on multiple accounts of insulting students and solicitation of funds. In attendance were twenty-six members of Congress from both the main and Nairobi campus.
At the hearing chaired by the Speaker of the house, Evans Owino, Mwyne sat composed facing all members present. He was to explain in detail the use of the seven hundred thousand given to him by the finance manager to cater for the event.
“The money was spent on shirts, grounds, quality sound, a stage, food and buses and there were still some risk factors because we cannot scan loyalty”, he said. Without having brought receipts as proof, the council found his statement incomprehensive.
The Speaker then inquired who allowed the students to be charged sh.200 as an attendance fee and the S.G had the following to say. “I told the finance manager in front of my committee, by virtue that I don’t have the 900k I asked for the event, therefore for the 700k I will have to charge students, which she approved. We charged every student 200 each to meet certain expenses but still at the end of the event we had a debt of 55k.”
“We didn’t lock people out but the money we were allocated determined how many people would come,” Mwyne responded.
A dissatisfied student, Catherine, was in attendance as a witness. “I wasn’t very sure whether we were supposed to pay for the event, but after confirming with the SG I paid. Surprisingly, we were left by the bus and didn’t attend the event. I was shocked to hear the SG on the phone using vulgar language on us, saying “leave those people I don’t want unnecessary chaos” and yet he is the one who told us to pay”, she said.
The Speaker proceeded to read a screenshot of a conversation between a student inquiring about the event and Mwyne’s blatant rude response.
Forming beads of sweat on his nose and his hands unwillingly trembling, Mwyne accepted the impudent response to the inquisitive student but denied posting the above-quoted statement.
“We are living at a very crucial time where things are shared on the internet, and in the current era of so much information, therefore anyone can do that. I am a public figure and anyone can access my photos, therefore I never took those photos nor posted them though I saw them circulating”
The council is yet to decide on his fate.