By Amoto Ndiewo
Pupils at Katithini Primary School near Kiambere Dam in Mwingi North risk being evicted because the school is build on Tana and Athi River Development Authority (TARDA) land.
The learner’s parents are squatters on living on the TARDA land and many of them were evicted early this year.
A court order issued in March saw about 1000 families evicted for wrongfully occupying TARDA owned land.
Following the judicial order of eviction TARDA flattened the homesteads forcing the owners to relocate droping enrolment of pupils from 335 to 126.
The ministry of education temporarily transferred the pupils to Kambusu Primary School about 3kms away.
A further attempt by the school’s management board to relocate to Matalatani village has been thwarted by fresh court stay orders.
A woman has filed a court case claiming the proposed school was to be built on their family land: “He decided to gift out the family land without consultation.’’
In an interesting twist Katithini Primary School head teacher Mutua Muthengi expressed surprise at the court case.
The Kambuse Primary School head teacher John Kimwele is now complaining that the presence of pupils from a different school is straining limited resources at his school.
The Kitui county Director of Education Salesa Adano confirmed the displaced school had been built on TARDA land.
