The University of Eldoret has issued new dress code guidelines weeks after the death of its alumnus and LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba. In an internal memo dated January 19, the Dean of Students, Lelei Kiboiy, called on all students to dress according to their gender to avoid confusion during security checks.
The memorandum states that students are expected to maintain gender compliant attire which should reflect their personal details as documented in the university admission records. The memo also prohibited male students from wearing sagging trousers, clothes revealing their chests and rugged or ripped pairs of jeans.
Micro and mini skirts, skin-tight trousers, ripped jeans, low-cut blouses, micro shorts, transparent and off-shoulder dresses, and sleeveless t-shirts were considered inappropriate for female students.
The Dean explained that the dress code was stipulated in the university’s Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct and Discipline and added that the rules push for simple, decent, modest and appropriate attire which facilitated a conducive learning environment, promising consequences for breaching them.
The University of Eldoret’s announcement became the second institution of higher learning to review its dress code in 2023. On January 7, the Kenya Methodist University declared dreadlocks and plaited hair among male students illegal which sparked a national debate.