The University of Eldoret (UoE) has issued strict regulations on student dress code, joining a growing list of varsities keen to control the appearance of students while in school.
In a memo seen by K24 Digital, UoE Dean of Students Lelei Kiboiy reminded students to observe the university dress code as outlined in the Rules and Regulations Governing the Conduct and Discipline of Students.
Kiboiy said all students are expected to dress in simple, decent, modest and appropriate attire that facilitates an atmosphere conducive for studies.
According to the dean, female students are prohibited from wearing micro/mini-skirts, skin-tight trousers, ragged/torn/ripped jeans, tumbo-cut blouses/T-shirts, low-cut blouses/dresses, micro shorts, and transparent dresses as they are all considered inappropriate.
Further, any attire that shows bra straps or sleeveless T-shirts is also disallowed.
For male students, the dean said clothes that reveal the chest as well as ragged/torn/ripped jeans, are considered inappropriate.
Additionally, the trend of sagging trousers is prohibited in the institution.
“All students are therefore advised to, at all times, desist from inappropriate dressing while at the university as this may warrant disciplinary action,” the memo dated January 19 reads in part.
The official also banned cross-dressing in the institution saying, “students are also expected to maintain gender compliant attire which should reflect their personal details as documented in the university admission records.”
UoE has been on the news in recent weeks following the murder of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba, who was a student at the institution.
The fashionista was found murdered and his body stashed in a metallic box along the Kipenyo-Kaptinga road in Kapseret on January 4, 2023.
Police said the metal box was dropped in the area by a vehicle whose registration number was concealed.
The incident was reported to local police by a boda boda rider who saw the vehicle drop the box before speeding off.
The officers rushed to the scene and on opening the box they found a decomposing body of a male adult dressed in a woman’s clothes who was later identified as Chiloba.
Chiloba’s alleged gay partner Jackton Odhiambo later confessed to the police that he was behind the murder of the student.
Odhiambo said he was driven to commit the crime after finding out that Chiloba had another partner.
MKU’s dress code
Early this month, Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) also outlined a list of outfits they expect students to wear at the institution.
In a memo dated January 5, 2023, the varsity’s dean of students Esther Mbaabu noted that female students were prohibited from wearing tumbo cuts (popularly known as crop tops) and clothes that exposed their backs.
Mbaabu also noted that any female student caught wearing miniskirts (any skirt above the knee line), skirts with slits above the knee line, see-through clothes and body-tight trousers would be breaking the code of conduct.
“The dean of Students wishes to encourage all students to adopt a style of dressing and appearance that would be acceptable in various fields of work and society in general,” the memo read.
“All students are required to comply with the University code of dressing (sections 3.21) and wear appropriate attire during study, at meal times in the dining hall, and in all university functions,” the memo added.
Male students on the other hand were prohibited from wearing earrings, dreadlocks and plaited hair.
The students were also banned from wearing hats/caps in classes and offices.
“Rasta/dreadlocks, plaited hair, earrings, untucked shirts, vests that show bare chest, hats or caps in classes and offices would be considered as inappropriate dressing,” the memo added.
