Kisumu Boys Alumni threatens to move to court to stop relocation of school

Some Members of the Kisumu Boys Alumni Foundation led by their President James Mwamu shares a light Moment with the School's Chief Principal Peter Obuogo when they donated wheelchairs to the school for emergency.They have opposed the proposal to relocate the school away from the City Center-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

 By Dickson Odhiambo

February 18, 2021

Kisumu Boys Alumni threatens to move to court to stop relocation of school

A Number of former students of Kisumu Boys high school have threatened to move to court to challenge the County Government of Kisumu’s proposal to relocate two schools away from the Central Business District.

The Alumni say they have vehemently opposed the relocation plan of both the Kisumu Boys High School and Kisumu Girls High school and will seek legal redress over the matter in Court soon.

Led by the President of the Kisumu Boys Alumni Foundation James Aggrey Mwamu, the Alumni say the decision is ill-advised and must be shelved.

Speaking at Kisumu Boys High school now Kisumu School after donating wheelchairs for emergency services at the school, Kisumu Boys Alumni Foundation President James Mwamu said they will resist such a move at all cost.

Mwamu says the Kisumu School has been serving a bigger population that include children from informal settlement areas such as Nyalenda, Manyatta, Obunga and Nyawita among others who have been day’s scholars and can afford day school fees payment.

Mwamu says for the case of Kisumu Boys High School, its title deed does not belong to the county Government of Kisumu hence it cannot purport to relocate it because the County has no authority over the school.

“Kisumu School is now a national School reserved by the National Government for educational purposes and before the school is relocated there has to be concurrence from the National Government,” Mwamu says.

The Alumni argue that there must be process of public participation by all the stakeholders including the school’s Board of Management, Alumni, both the National Government and County Government of Kisumu among others before such a decision is reached.

“The Board of Management of the school and the Alumni have met and we have said a big no to this process of relocating the school and we will move to court to challenge such a decision,” Mwamu adds

They add that such schools are historical monuments which cannot just be relocated anyhow without a due process of public participation.

“These are schools which were established during the building of the Kenya-Uganda Railways hence they are historical monuments and when the history of Kisumu is written it cannot be complete without mentioning the two schools,” Mwamu says.

They say relocating the two schools and replacing them by a hotel and a mall is very ill thought.

“If the County Government of Kisumu want land to build hotels and malls, let them go and look for land in Ahero, Rabuor or Kombewa or any other place for such a plan,” he further adds.

A report from a section of the media early this week indicated that the County Government of Kisumu plans to relocate the two schools located a long Kisumu-Kakamega Highway for the expansion of Kisumu City, a proposal that has caused mixed reactions from various stakeholders whom some of them have resorted to Social media platforms to oppose it.

Kisumu County Executive Committee Member in charge of Education John Awiti could not be reached for comments on the matter.

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