Judge pulls out of varsity case

A High Court judge has pulled out of a case in which Moi University is fighting a decision to close down its law school.

Justice Joseph Onguto said: “My association with the CLE (Council of Legal Education) ceased hardly 10 months ago. Consequently, a reasonable and fair-minded observer with the full facts would not deem me fit to adjudicate the matter impartially. I, therefore, recuse myself.”

This comes after the university yesterday went to court over its accreditation row with the CLE.

Justice Onguto directed the matter be heard by Judge George Odunga on Thursday.

In its application, the university is challenging a directive by the CLE to shut down its School of Law within two months.

According to the university, the council turned down its application for full accreditation of the school.

The university criticised the CLE over failure to issue a public notice inviting the public to give their views with regard to the school’s closure.

The educational institution said the decision to provide a closure report was a gross violation of the students’ right to education.

Moi University now wants the decision suspended and the status quo restored so that it continues to be a legal education provider, and admit new students in the next academic year pending the hearing and determination of the case.

According to the university’s legal officer Wilkister Simiyu, the directive to close the school of law was issued after an August 28 inspection of the premises by CLE’s Quality Assurance and Compliance Committee for the Bachelors of Law (LLB) programme.

After the inspection, a report was attached to the September 23 letter that communicated the decision.

In its court documents, Moi University says the accreditation parameters purportedly used by the CLE to evaluate the curriculum was unconstitutional.