NAIROBI, Kenya — The legal battle over the ownership and management of Gatoto Community Primary School is set to continue after lawyer Martina Swiga announced that her clients will challenge the High Court’s decision at the Court of Appeal.
Speaking outside the Milimani Law Courts following the ruling, Swiga said her clients had instructed her legal team to file an appeal, arguing that the High Court’s judgment had resulted in an injustice that should be reviewed by the appellate court.
“Our clients, who are aggrieved by the decision of the High Court, have instructed us to move to the Court of Appeal in a bid to address the injustice that has been occasioned upon them,” she said.
Swiga said the appeal would seek to overturn the High Court’s findings on the ownership and management of the community school, adding that her clients remain determined to pursue the matter through all available legal channels.
She maintained that the dispute extends beyond ownership of the institution and raises broader questions about equal access to justice.
“These are ordinary Kenyans, and justice should be served to all irrespective of status,” she said.
The advocate further alleged that the ownership dispute had been initiated by a former student of the school, whom she accused of laying claim to both the institution and the land on which it stands despite, according to her, the school having existed long before he was born.
“We understand that the perpetrator of this injustice is a former student of the school who, despite having been a student there, has now come up with a narrative that he is the owner of the land and the owner of a school that began before he was born,” Swiga claimed.
She said her legal team would continue pursuing every available legal remedy to protect what she described as the interests of the community.
“Therefore, we are going to use every legal avenue to try to bring this injustice to an end,” she said.
The High Court ruling, whose details were not immediately disclosed by the parties, has reignited the long-running dispute over the ownership and governance of Gatoto Community Primary School.
The matter is now expected to proceed to the Court of Appeal, where the appellate judges will determine whether the High Court properly interpreted the law and the evidence presented by the parties.