The new owners of Gatoto Primary School have been ordered to meet the cost of providing security at the institution as it transitions from public to private ownership by paying for three police officers to man the school during the transition.
The development came during proceedings at the High Court, where Senior Counsel Charles Kanjama asked the court to direct the National Police Service to assign three officers to guard the school and provide security to its new management during the transition period.
The case has been before the court for more than a year after a petitioner moved the High Court seeking orders to have ownership of the school transferred from the public to private hands. The High Court subsequently issued orders directing the Ministry of Education to facilitate the transfer of the institution to private ownership.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Kanjama asked the court to issue further orders requiring the leadership of the National Police Service to deploy officers to the school to safeguard the new management and facilitate a smooth transition.
However, lawyers representing the National Police Service opposed the application, arguing that the new management must follow the established procedure if it requires security services from the police.
The lawyers told the court that the school could seek security services through the prescribed process and would be required to meet the cost of the officers at the applicable rates.
The objection places the responsibility for financing the requested security on Gatoto Primary School’s new owners as the institution begins the transition from public administration to private management.
