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Priest Decries Forceful Eviction of Kenyan Catholic School Head for Dismal Performance

Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo. Credit: KCCB

The former General Secretary of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has condemned the forceful eviction of the principal of St. Gabriel Isongo Secondary School by the parents who cited poor performance of the school that is sponsored by the Diocese of Kakamega.

In his message after Kenya’s Teachers Service Commission (TSC) withdrew all the government teachers from the school following the eviction, Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo said the conduct of the parents was unfortunate and apologized on behalf of the community.

“We want to condemn what happened in this school and this area,”  Fr. Lugonzo said Thursday, January 18 during a meeting that had seen parents and schools’ management gather to denounce TSC's decision.

He added, “We want to come out clear as the sponsor that whatever happened was unfortunate and we apologize on behalf of the community.”

Angry parents who teamed up with motorcycle riders invaded the school on January 12 and forcefully ejected the Principal and the Director of Studies.

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While manhandling the duo, chasing them from school, and chanting and waving twigs, the group accused them of mismanagement of the school, a situation they said had contributed to the school’s poor performance over the years.

The parent’s action that had received numerous condemnations from leaders including the country’s Cabinet Secretary for education compelled the TSC to transfer all 17 government teachers from the school to neighboring institutions.

Parents have described TSC’s decision as inappropriate, saying that the punishment is not equivalent to the mistake that the parents committed.

“The decision by TSC indicates that they do not have our children’s interest at heart,” one of the parents said.

The area Member of Parliament (MP) urged the TSC to return all the transferred teachers to the school while advising the students and the community to apologize for how they handled the school’s principal.

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The Mumias East deputy county commissioner, Paul Lagat, said, “The TSC withdrew all the teachers employed by the commission citing insecurity following the incident. We have not been informed when other teachers will be brought to the school.”

On his part, the Director of Education in Kakamega County where the school is situated assured the school’s stakeholders that a solution to the problem would be found.

“We shall have to negotiate with the teachers’ service commission to get teachers to teach our children,” Boniface Ouko said.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.