Has Kibabii University banned relationships with freshers?

Kibabii University has officially dismissed a viral social media memo claiming that second, third, and fourth-year students are prohibited from dating incoming first-year students.

The document, deceptively styled as an internal communication from the Office of the Registrar (Academic Affairs), purported to establish code-of-conduct guidelines to prevent the exploitation of freshmen.

A specific directive in the forged memo stated that senior students should not engage in romantic or inappropriate relationships with first-year students.

The fabricated notice spread rapidly across various platforms, eliciting a wide range of reactions from the student body and the general public, many of whom questioned the legitimacy of such a policy.

Addressing the controversy, a university official informed a digital media outlet that the document was fraudulent, highlighting that it lacked the authentic signature and official stamp of the Registrar (Academic Affairs).

The official confirmed that both the signature and the stamp appearing on the circulated document were inauthentic and did not belong to the registrar's office.

This is AI-generated. That is not the registrar’s signature, and that is not the registrar’s stamp,” Mutwiwa said in response to the circulating memo. 

Dated July 24, 2026, the fake memo was addressed to the entire student community.

In addition to the relationship ban, the notice cautioned students against exploiting freshmen through the unauthorized sale of student handbooks, registration services, and portal access.

The professional layout of the document initially convinced many online users of its validity, sparking a broader debate on whether academic institutions should regulate consensual relationships between adult students.

The university's swift dismissal of the claim underscores the persistent challenge of misinformation and the circulation of sophisticated forgeries in the digital age.

Public institutions are increasingly forced to issue public clarifications as forged notices, often featuring sophisticated replicas of official stamps, continue to surface on social media.

Universities in Kenya are known for enforcing detailed rules governing student conduct, discipline and welfare

Institutions routinely regulate issues such as alcohol and drug use, examinations, accommodation, demonstrations, public conduct and sexual harassment to ensure a safe and conducive learning environment.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) requires universities to establish disciplinary frameworks covering matters such as student behavior, harassment, safety, dress codes, alcohol and drug abuse, and grievance resolution mechanisms.

At the University of Nairobi, the Student Code of Conduct contains provisions on alcohol and drugs, demonstrations, accommodation, examinations, weapons, public utterances and disciplinary offenses.

Universities commonly classify theft, assault, fighting, gambling and destruction of property as disciplinary offenses.

CUE lists fighting, theft, assault and gambling among offences institutions should include in student disciplinary regulations.

Students are required to seek written permission before keeping motor vehicles on campus, while the institution treats drug possession, drunkenness and disruptive behavior as disciplinary offenses.

The university’s accommodation regulations further prohibit practices such as room trading, unauthorized room transfers and illegal occupation of hostels.

These regulations demonstrate that Kenyan universities do not hesitate to intervene in matters affecting order, safety and student welfare. 

However, rules barring adult students from entering consensual relationships solely because they are in different years of study are largely unheard of in public universities.

Existing regulations typically focus on preventing sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse rather than policing relationships between consenting adults.