Now Cabinet moves to end school riots

The Cabinet Thursday ordered the Education Ministry to enforce discipline and restore calm among students following weeks of unrest in schools.

The meeting chaired by President Kibaki directed the ministry, schools’ boards of governors and Parents and Teachers Associations to work closely to restore order in schools with the active involvement of students.

Sources said the Cabinet also discussed two Bills tabled in Parliament to re-start the constitutional review process.

New constitution

“President Kibaki told the Cabinet that Kenyans were yearning for a new constitution and that the process should be speeded up,” a source who asked not to be named, told the Nation after the meeting.

The Cabinet also discussed the controversial sale of the Grand Regency Hotel, a day after Libyan investors vowed not to return it to the Government. The ministers asked the team led by retired chief justice Majid Cockar to speed up its investigations into the saga.

Finance minister Amos Kimunya, who was censured by Parliament over his role in the controversial sale, stepped aside to pave way for investigations last month. And on Thursday, Speaker Kenneth Marende criticised Mr Kimunya for raising the matter at a public rally shortly after MPs passed a vote of no-confidence against him.

Mr Marende said that Mr Kimunya had cast aspersions on the institution of the Speaker of the National Assembly

The Cabinet also approved a decision to sell more National Bank of Kenya shares to the public.

First, the National Social Security Fund will sell part of the shares it bought about a decade ago when it converted its fixed deposits into shareholding to help the bank which was struggling financially at the time.

NSSF will sell its shares to a strategic investor.

Later, the Government will also sell part of its shares in the bank through the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

The approval comes at time when the government is seeking ways of sealing a Budget deficit of Sh127 billion, the highest in the country’s history. On education, a press dispatch from Presidential Press Service said the Cabinet condemned the cases of wanton destruction of school property and called for an immediate end to the strikes and violence in schools.

More than 300 schools have been hit by strikes this year.

One student was killed in a dormitory fire at a Nairobi school while scores have been injured and property worth millions destroyed in the mayhem.

Attempted murder

Tens of students have since been taken to court to answer charges of arson and related offences. At least 12 students from one school in Rift Valley have been accused of attempted murder. They face life in prison if convicted.

After the strikes, Education minister Sam Ongeri banned the use of mobile phones among students. He also proposed the expulsion of students who led the strikes or took part in burning school property.

A key ministry official later said that transfers of students had been suspended to ensure that those who burnt down their schools were not transferred to other schools.

A number of students have also been taken to court over the strikes.

On Thursday, the PPS statement said: “The Cabinet ordered that discipline and peace must be restored in schools.”

The Cabinet said that acts of impunity should not be tolerated noting that the government will work with all players in the education sector to ensure that normalcy and peace are restored in secondary schools.

It also authorised the hosting of the Pan African conference on constitutional reform which will take place on August 19 and 20.
The conference is being coordinated by the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs.
It will bring together constitutional experts. Experts will also discuss challenges to democracy in the continent among other issues on governance and the rule of law.