Strathmore University breaks silence after popular TikToker says she was denied entry over dress code

A Kenyan TikToker has claimed that she was recently harassed and barred from attending an event by gatekeepers at Nairobi’s Strathmore University because of her dress code.

Swiry Nyar Kano took to her TikTok account to complain about the alleged maltreatment at the learning institution.

Donned in an African print dress, the TikToker who is known for her pro-Africa content says she believes she had dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, the content creator said she had been invited to the event by TikTok.

She said the short-form video sharing app reached out to her manager to be on the panel for the ‘TikTok for Peace’ campaign and she duly accepted the invitation.

Nyar Kano said that upon reaching the Strathmore University gate, she was asked to identify herself and indicate the purpose of her visit.

She was distressed when the university security team at the gate declined to let her in as her name was not listed among the guests during the ‘TikTok for Peace’ function, held at the auditorium.

According to Nyar Kano, a man she believes is an employee of the institution scolded her about her dress code, telling her how inappropriately dressed she was; a claim the university denies.

The main organizer of the event was a firm that specializes in corporate affairs and public policy known as Speyside Group, which had hired the auditorium from the university.

Hosting alongside Speyside was an NGO - Article 19 - and TikTok; Strathmore University was to solely provide the venue and students interested in the cause.

Nyar Kano however insists that the institution’s security team did not allow her to enter because of how she was dressed.

“For this particular event, I did not have a dress code alert and as a fashion designer, I went for an African fabric which would not have colonial interference,” she said.

She asserts that Strathmore University wants to impose its dress code on everyone beyond their community, including visitors.

In the video, which has been since deleted from her TikTok account but has gone viral everywhere else, Nyar Kano goes on a tirade claiming that her treatment at Strathmore University reeks of a colonial hangover attitude, an issue the institution denies.

When Citizen Digital reached out to Strathmore University for comment on the matter, the Dean of Students Paul Ochieng’ insisted that as agreed in the protocol with the organizers – Speyside - the university, as physical hosts, had to strictly abide by the guest list presented to them, hence the denial of entry for any unlisted guest.

The university availed a list to Citizen Digital showing that Nyar Kano’s name was not among those that were expected at the event.

Mr. Ochieng’ vehemently refutes claims of harassment put forward by the content creator, noting that the employees at the gate treated her with uttermost respect and dignity, and that they have CCTV footage to prove it.

The university insists that in giving its auditorium for the function, they had informed the organizer of adherence to its dress code based on decency and appropriateness.

“We have the dress code that is appropriate for the nature of the industry our students join once they leave the institution.  We train lawyers, business people, finance experts, engineers,” he added.

The content creator notes that since the incident, TikTok called to apologize to her but she is yet to receive an apology from Strathmore University.