Makini school row with parent escalates

The feud between the regional managing director of McKinney School and the chairman of the parent union committee took a new turn after the principal sued the parent for alleged defamation.

Mr. Horace Mbanza brought the case before the Milimani Court accusing Mr. Nixon Pogo of making defamatory remarks during a meeting earlier this month.

He says that Mr. Bogo knew the statements would cause him distress and embarrassment and jeopardize his relationship with parents and school stakeholders.

Mr. Mpanza is seeking a permanent injunction restraining the parent or any person acting under his instructions from posting, publishing, or making any other defamatory statements relating to him.

Presiding Judge Sami Upande issued a temporary order prohibiting the parent from publishing or making any statements or sayings whatsoever related to Mr. Mpanza.

“In the meantime, Prayer No. 2 is allowed to await the hearing,” the judge ruled.

The court ordered the matter to be heard on August 2 and ordered the parent to file his response within 14 days.

Court documents indicate that Mr. Pogo called a virtual Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting on July 8, which was attended by more than 100 parents at the school.

During the meeting, Mr. Mbanza said the father had made statements and publications calculated to defame and discredit him in the eyes of the right-thinking people in the community.

Since the foreign owners came to Kenya, the principal said, parents have been denied access to the school, teachers are allegedly terrified and there are too many weapons in the school.

It was also alleged that Mr. Bogo alleged that the management had engaged a foreign company to do the catering jobs, which could be done by Kenyans and that the school’s toilets were in such a pathetic state, that students had to scramble to use them in the morning.

Mbanza says the posts have made the school look down on, hated, and so far damaged McKinney’s good reputation, marketability, as well as her character.

He said, “The plaintiffs average that the information conveyed in the said statements was inaccurate, malicious and intended to harm the character and eminent reputation of the plaintiff.”

He says he is an outstanding and respected leader with more than 15 years’ track record of working in management positions and has worked with South African company ADvTECH, which acquired the school in 2018, for more than 14 years.

He says the statements will make right-thinking members of the community believe that the school is an unsafe and hostile war zone where people use weapons in front of students and that Mr Mpanza physically confronts and attacks parents and teachers.

Mbanza further says that Mr. Bogo has instigated the other parents at the said meeting and passed several decisions, which have no bearing on the PTA’s mandates including financial, operational and economic decisions related to the running of the school.

Among the decisions allegedly passed were to prevent the administration from increasing school fees in the next two years and to prevent the administration from dismissing employees during the same period.

The Regional Director says Mr. Bogo should know that the General Manager has not assaulted anyone and no one has filed a complaint of assault.

“The defendant should know that the second plaintiff does not own a gun and has never owned a gun in his life,” he said.

He says there are no guns in the school, and there is a security check that does not allow firearms.

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