10 students sue Molo Academy after school suspension.
Students from Molo Academy Boys Secondary School have petitioned the High Court in Nakuru to challenge their suspension, which occurred as a result of a strike on November 29, last year.
The 10 students suspected of leading the strike, through their lawyer Owino Oenga, have named the school and the Director of Public Prosecutions as respondents.
In their application to Justice Grace Ngenye, the students request that the school temporarily suspend them until their criminal case at Molo Law Court is heard and determined.
“The applicants (students) pray for the court to direct the school to allow them to go report back to school and resume studies,” reads the application.
Oenga also asked the court to prevent the school from punishing the students pending the outcome of the criminal case in Molo. He also prayed for the application’s cost.
On January 3, 2022, a day before the school reopened, the students were allegedly suspended from their school via text messages sent to their parents.
The parents were instructed in the text message to pick up the suspension letters from the school.
Following the commotion in the school, they were arrested on November 29, 2020, and arraigned in court on November 30.
The school dormitory windows were shattered during the commotion. A day later, their parents were notified that the students were suspected of leading the strike.
They were charged with malicious property damage, entered a plea, and were released on a personal bond of Sh20,000 each, pending the outcome of the case.
According to Oenga, the school administration fixed the students without proof and suspended them based on an ongoing criminal case.
According to the application,the students have been separated from their right to an education and their presumption of innocence.
He claimed that unless the school is restrained by the court, the ten will be denied education, severely punished, disadvantaged in a competitive education system, and denied their right to fair administrative activity.
The lawyer claims that, despite the fact that the students are presumed innocent, the school has condemned them unjustly by suspending them.
“The applicants have been subjected to a criminal prosecution at the behest of the school and are still being unfairly victimized by being suspended,” reads the application.
“The applicants have been subjected to a criminal prosecution at the behest of the school and are still being unfairly victimized by being suspended,” reads the application.
Also Read:
He goes on to say that the students are in distress and have suffered psychologically and emotionally as a result of being arrested, detained for three days, and suspended.
He contends that the school’s actions are not in the best interests of the minors who will be disadvantaged.
Justice Ngenye ordered that the application be served and that the school respond within ten days.
On January 26, the case will be heard.
10 students sue Molo Academy after school suspension
