Nyeri County Government sues Kaimenyi over selection flaws

By MURIMI MWANGI

The Nyeri County Government has sued Education Cabinet Secretary, Jacob Kaimenyi and his Principal Secretary Richard Belio Kipsang over alleged flawed Form One selection.

Through lawyer Wahome Gikonyo, the government wants the admission to all the extra-county schools in Nyeri stopped, until the suit is heard and determined. In the suit, the CS and his PS are accused of abetting the allegedly flawed selection process, which gave the lion share of the Form One places in the extra-county schools to “outsiders”.

The government says the county was legally entitled to 60 per cent of the slots, but got less than that across all the 14 extra-county schools.

 “Nyeri County gave out 1,570 admissions in extra county school but only 320 of our students were admitted outside the county.

It was a discrimination against the legitimate expectations of the students and their parents who sacrificed immensely to put up the schools,” reads the petition in part.

The selection process is said to  lack merit, as two students with 219 and 211 marks are said to have been admitted to South Tetu Girls and Nyeri High School respectively.

Affixed to the petition are the two letters written by both schools to the Cabinet Secretary dated January 24 and 27 protesting the admission of the two students.

“The admissions are an injustice and an eyesore to the people of Nyeri County who provided land and contributed money through harambees to build these schools,” said Mr Wahome yesterday.

Wahome lamented that the ministry had ignored both letters, and a third one written by Governor Nderitu Gachagua on the same issue.

Nyeri County Secretary Wambui Kimathi, in her affidavit affixed to the suit asked the court to nullify the selection process to safeguard the spirit of the Constitution.

“In the interest of equality and constitutionality, this application be allowed as grave injustice will be suffered by residents of Nyeri which cannot be compensated by award,” reads her affidavit in part.

Justice James Wakiaga certified the matter as urgent and set it for hearing today at 10am, by which time the CS and his PS would have been served with copies of the suit.