Uganda Pentecostal University (UPU) has filed application seeking to commit Kenya School of Law Director PLO Lumumba to six months civil jail for contempt of court.
The university claims Prof Lumumba has disobeyed an order requiring him to admit students who have gone through the foreign institution and qualified to study in Kenya.
Professor John Ntambirweki, the university's Vice Chancellor, says a judge had quashed an earlier decision of Council of Legal Education to suspend the recognition of UPU’s Bachelor of Law degree programme.
“The said order was duly extracted and served upon the director and Chief Executive of Kenya School of Law and the Legal Education Secretary on October 10 last year,” the Ugandan states in court documents.
DENIED ENTRY
The university’s lawyer, Mr Steven Nzaku, on Tuesday told Mr Justice George Odunga that despite the service of the order, over 26 former students from UPU who applied to the Kenya School of Law for the advocate training programme have been denied entry.
Mr Nzaku said Prof Lumumba and the Council for Legal Education have continued to deny recognition of Bachelor of Law degree certificates awarded by UPU in face of the standing court order.
“They have vowed not to admit or register and allow UPU former students from lawfully attending classes as bona fide students of Kenya School of Law where they are supposed to undertake advocate training programme for the academic year 2015/2016,” the lawyer told the court.
DISCRIMINATION
The respondents have proceeded and admitted over 1,500 students from local and other foreign universities who received their admission letters on December 2014 and are almost starting their training, the court heard.
“One of the students, Ms Elizabeth Manjendo Were, from UPU has been not considered even after the Director of the Kenya School of Law informed her that she had complied with all the the 16 core subjects prescribed as prerequisite for the admission to the school,” he said.
He contended that despite the respondents having purported to admit the students, they exhibited blatant discrimination against UPU former students.
The court directed the respondents to file replying affidavits to allow the matter be heard inter-parties on June 8.
From Nation news