IG Kanja, DIG Lagat, PS Ololtuaa summoned over alleged defiance of court orders

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat and Basic Education Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa have been summoned to appear before the High Court on Friday to explain the alleged failure to implement court orders barring the government from interfering with the management of Gatoto Community Primary School. 

Justice Gregory Mutai directed the country's top security chiefs, the PS, alongside the Nairobi Director of Education and Senior Deputy County Education Officer Erick Mulevu, to personally appear before the court on July 24,2026  after the school's management filed contempt of court applications accusing State officials of defying an earlier High Court judgment.

The contempt application stems from a landmark judgment delivered by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, who declared that the government's attempt to convert the Mukuru Kwa Reuben-based community school into a public institution was unconstitutional, illegal and contrary to the Basic Education Act.

In the judgment delivered  last year in July, Justice Mwamuye held that Gatoto Community Primary School remains a private, non-profit Alternative Provision of Basic Education and Training (APBET) institution and not a public school as claimed by the Ministry of Education.

Justice Mwamuye ordered that the management of the school be restored to its original owners and barred the Ministry of Education from registering or administering the institution as a public school.

The judge nullified the certificate of registration issued on October 15, 2024 by the  Ministry of Education, which had reclassified the school as a public institution, describing the process as unconstitutional and undertaken in violation of statutory procedures.

He further ordered the Nairobi County Education Board to re-register the school within 60 days as a private, non-profit APBET institution under the ownership and management of its Board of Management.

To safeguard the school's independence, Justice Mwamuye also permanently restrained the Ministry of Education, police, education officials and local administrators from interfering with the institution's management or attempting to alter its legal status except within the limits of lawful statutory oversight.

The court further declared that Robinson Kombo, who had been at the centre of the disputed takeover, had no legal mandate to participate in the governance of the school.

Justice Mwamuye found that the education and security officials had acted outside the law in attempting to seize control of the institution, holding that no government agency has the authority to forcibly take over a community-founded school that it neither established nor finances.

He observed that the attempted takeover disregarded the constitutional right to fair administrative action and jeopardized the education of more than 1,000 learners from the informal settlement who depend on the donor-funded institution.

Despite those orders, the school's management, led by  Gideon Ndambuki, a representative of the Board of Directors returned to court claiming State agencies had failed to facilitate the restoration of the Board of Management and had instead continued to frustrate implementation of the judgment.

Appearing for the petitioners, Law Society of Kenya President Charles Kanjama, alongside Senior Counsel Martha Karua, told the court that attempts to enforce the orders were met with hostility on several occasions including the latest last week.

Kanjama informed the court that a vehicle belonging to Karua was attacked and stoned by suspected goons while the legal team attempted to serve and implement the court orders last week.

He also accused Mukuru Kwa Reuben Officer Commanding Station Benson Mbai of failing to provide adequate police security despite being aware that court orders were being enforced.

According to the petitioners, several vehicles belonging to advocates and representatives of the school's management were damaged during the confrontation.

The owners accused   several state actors of orchestrating the attempted takeover, including the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Mukuru Kwa Reuben, the Assistant County Commissioner, the Sub-County Education Officer, the area Chief, a representative of the Nairobi County Education Board, and the Nairobi County and Regional Directors of Education.

According to the petitioners,Mr Robinson Kombo, with the backing of the Nairobi County Education Board, forcefully entered the school on several ocasssions, issued threats to teachers and the Board of Management, incited parents and staff, and unlawfully initiated the process of re-registering the institution as a public school without legal authority.

They further stated that the government appointed a new headteacher, arguing that the decision was made without consulting the school's lawful Board of Management and formed part of a broader scheme to wrest control of the donor-funded community institution.

The application was opposed by lawyer Danstan Omari and State Counsel Jacline Kiramana, appearing for the Attorney General and government agencies.

They maintained that Gatoto Comprehensive School has operated as a public institution since the 1990s and argued that transferring its management would disrupt learning, interfere with Kenya National Examinations Council records and create administrative challenges within the Ministry of Education.

The respondents further argued that there is currently no legal framework permitting the transfer of a public school to community management, adding that legislation addressing the matter is still pending before Parliament.

After considering the submissions, Justice Mutai directed Inspector General Kanja, DIG Lagat, PS Ololtuaa, the Nairobi Director of Education and Erick Mulevu to personally attend court on July 24 to explain why Justice Mwamuye's orders and subsequent orders since last year had allegedly not been implemented.