The High Court has dismissed a petition by former students of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural Technology (Jkuat) seeking the reopening of the institution’s Eldoret campus that was shut down three years ago.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that the students failed to demonstrate that the decision to close the campus in 2020 was unlawful or malicious.
Three students—Reuben Lolem, Jahezm Dede and Susan Cheptoo—filed the case saying the closure affected more than 1,500 learners who were enrolled on various courses.
They said that they had paid fees and had a legitimate expectation that the university would offer quality education at the campus, but that it was arbitrarily closed taking into account the views of the students.
“In my view, the Applicants ought to have demonstrated to this Court that Respondents acted outside of the powers and mandate given to them under the Universities Act, or that they abused those powers in some way,” the judge said.
The judge added that the larger purposive objective accompanied by public interest surpassed the expectation of the petitioners when the university closed the campus.
The students argued that the University policy is very clear in that where a campus is to be subjected to any closure for any reason, the ongoing students at the university will be afforded the opportunity to finish their studies without admitting new students— which is the criteria that was applied when JKUAT closed its campuses in Kisumu and Kigali in Rwanda.
