The legal battle over the ownership and management of Gatoto Community Primary School is set to move to the Court of Appeal after lawyer Martina Swiga announced that her clients have instructed her to challenge the High Court’s decision.
Speaking outside Milimani Law Courts, Swiga said her clients were dissatisfied with the ruling, arguing that it had occasioned an injustice that should be reviewed by the appellate court.
“Our clients, who are aggrieved by the decision of the High Court, have instructed us to move to the Court of Appeal in a bid to address the injustice that has been occasioned upon them,” she said.
The advocate said the appeal would seek to overturn the High Court’s findings on the ownership and management of Gatoto Community Primary School, insisting that her clients remain committed to pursuing justice through the courts. Swiga emphasized that the dispute is not only about the school but also about ensuring that ordinary citizens receive equal treatment before the law.
“These are ordinary Kenyans, and justice should be served to all irrespective of status,” she said.
She further alleged that the ownership dispute had been initiated by a former student of the school, whom she accused of claiming ownership of both the institution and the land on which it stands despite, according to her, the school having existed long before he was born.
“We understand that the perpetrator of this injustice is a former student of the school who, despite having been a student there, has now come up with a narrative that he is the owner of the land and the owner of a school that began before he was born,” Swiga claimed.
The lawyer maintained that her legal team would exhaust every available legal avenue in an effort to challenge the judgment and protect what she described as the community’s interests.
“Therefore, we are going to use every legal avenue to try to bring this injustice to an end,” she said.
