The University of Nairobi (UoN) Hostel Stella Awinja was named after a UON student going by the same name. It is the only hostel in Africa to be named after a university student.
Stella Awinja was a third-year Faculty of Engineering student when she met her untimely and tragic death along the University Way in 1984. Stella was walking towards a Westlands’ matatu stage along University Way when a stone fell off from a construction crane and hit her.
The crane was hoisting building material during the construction of the Lillian’s Tower, opposite the Central Police station. The following year, during the graduation of her class, the University of Nairobi awarded her an aegrotat degree, which her parents received on her behalf.
An aegrotat degree is a degree awarded to someone who dies while studying and whom the faculty believes would have completed their degree were they alive.
In 1977, The University of Nairobi acquired a building along Lower State Hse Road called Anne’s Hall. Anne’s Hall had been built as a hostel to host white-only lady students. The university of Nairobi converted it into a ladies’ hostel, hosting ladies from the main and Chiromo Campuses.
In 1990, a request was made to the University of Nairobi to rename Anne’s Hall to Stella Awinja, in honor of Stella Awinja.
UON granted the request. At the time of her death, Stella Awinja was a student leader, a celebrated actress, and was considered one of the smartest students to walk through the gates of the University of Nairobi.
