EALA MP Shahbal calls for revival of free education to benefit all learners
Kenya’s representative to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Suleiman Shahbal, has called on national and county governments to restore the late President Mwai Kibaki’s vision of free education, insisting no child should be sent home over unpaid fees.
Speaking in Mombasa as chief guest at the 2026 scholarship award ceremony organised by the Luo Professionals Welfare Association (LUP), Shahbal said education is the greatest wealth an individual can acquire and reaffirmed his long-standing commitment to accessible learning for all.
Shahbal donated KSh 200,000 to support LUP’s scholarship fund and urged counties to establish mechanisms that prevent fee arrears from locking students out of classrooms. He described such barriers as a drag on national development and stressed that his stance is non-partisan. “This has nothing to do with politics. I am a firm believer in free education for everybody,” he said.
LUP awarded KSh 1.18 million in scholarships to 61 bright but needy students from the Luo community. Shahbal praised the initiative as noble and selfless, encouraging other professional associations to adopt similar programmes that directly support vulnerable learners. “You give nothing when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give,” he added.
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Shahbal announced plans to sponsor students from each of the county’s six constituencies to pursue higher education locally and abroad. He said selecting 20 students annually from every constituency would produce more than 600 graduates within five years, young professionals equipped with fresh ideas and perspectives to drive change in the city. “These graduates would return with new ideas, a new vision, and a new way of looking at life. They would completely change Mombasa,” he said.
LUP Chairman Pius Oketch thanked Shahbal for his contribution and advocacy, noting the support would help vulnerable students complete their studies. He said the partnership strengthens community-led efforts to expand opportunity and reduce the financial barriers that keep talented learners out of school.
By Masaki Enock
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