Makini School has suffered a setback after a Nairobi court ordered them to pay Sh 600,000 to two minors who were unlawfully expelled from school.
In his Judgement, Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that their dignity and mental health was violated by the said expulsion that was done illegally.
In the case, the minors through their mother sued the school arguing that the expulsion of the two was unjustified.
The minors were expelled following an alleged disagreement between the school and their parent with court papers alleging that on July 7, 2023, the children were reportedly removed from class and handed termination letters by head teacher Catherine Njuguna, who directed them to wait for their parents at the pickup area.
Through lawyer Apollo Mboya, the parents said the expulsion was unjustified adding that the kids were top-performing students with no history of disciplinary issues.
Justice Mugambi faulted the school for how it expelled the two minors considering the dispute in question was with their father and not the children who did not know anything.
“A declaration is hereby issued that the manner in which the School through its agents treated the minors following its decision to terminate their contract with their father violated their inherent dignity under Article 28 and the minors’ mental and psychological well-being in violation of Article 29 (d) of the Constitution,” the court ruled.
It was the court’s opinion that at all times, the school should have at all times directly dealt with the parents on the question of terminating their relationship with the school.
“Once the information got to the parents, it was up the parents to consider how best to deal with that situation including relaying the information to minors affected by the school decision as this was not a controversy between the school and the children,” the court ruled.
The court said that although it was within the rights of the school to terminate the contract in accordance with terms of the contract, it could not rely on the terms contract to violate the rights of the minors that the Constitution guarantees.
“Considering that that the minors were unaware of the differences between their father and the school that led to termination of the contract and which rendered their stay in the school no longer tenable, due to the lapse of the parent-school contract under which they were the beneficiaries; I do not find the manner in which the Respondents treated the minors to be in accord with dignity of the minors,” the court ruled.
Lawyer Mboya said the kids were physically ejected from the classroom and isolated from the rest of the pupils.
He argued that the expulsion subjected the children to cruel, degrading treatment, causing severe emotional distress.
Mboya described the school’s actions as “precipitate, hasty, petty, malicious, capricious, draconian, and discriminatory,” emphasizing the profound anguish caused to the minors and their family. Judge Mugambi’s ruling underscores the importance of protecting students’ dignity and well-being within educational institutions.
