A former senior two student at Kibuli Secondary School has sued
its board of governors for dismissing her on allegations of theft of
sugar.
In a law suit filed before the High Civil Division on
Wednesday, Latifah Nakisita through her mother Ms Babra Lubwama Nakku,
is seeking for a declaration that her purported dismissal by the school
was illegal, irregular and therefore violation of the principles of
natural justice.
Ms Nakku claims that her daughter was
indefinitely suspended from Kibuli Secondary School on September 23,
2019 while she was still in senior two class, third term on allegations
of stealing sugar.
According to court documents, copies of which were
seen by Daily Monitor, the alleged offence was committed around July
2019 which was second term whose verdict was never disclosed to the
applicant (Nakisita) until when she was already pursing her studies in
third term.
The court documents further indicate that
at the end of second term, Nakisita’s parent was handed a second term
circular, bank slip for paying third term school fees with her property
yet there was no mention of any disciplinary case against her.
“The
applicant on the 14th day of September, 2019, paid Shs823,000 as part of
her school fees for third term and on 15th September reported to Kibuli
Secondary School for third term,” reads in part the court documents.
Ms
Nakku states that on 19th September, the respondent through the head
teacher called her on phone informing her that her daughter had been
suspended indefinitely for a crime allegedly committed in the middle of
second term without according her an opportunity to be heard.
She
states that her daughter was coerced by the matron, one Christine
Nalwada to write a letter admitting that she had stolen sugar after
canning her and thus forwarding her name to the disciplinary committee.
“The
respondent (School board of governors) arbitrarily issued the applicant
an indefinite suspension without investigating and verifying the
allegations of the matron which formed the basis of the issue of this
indefinite suspension was contrary to rules of natural justice,” Ms
Nakku states.
Through her lawyers of Messrs Mugisha,
Namutale & Co. Advocates, Ms Nakku claims that the decision of the
respondent was illegal, irregular and was made in circumstances
amounting to unfair treatment in breach of the constitutional right to
be accorded an opportunity to be heard.
Ms Nakku states that her
daughter has been subjected to emotional distress and inconvenience for
which she seeks general damages because she has been home since no
school admits students in third term and has lost out for which she
holds the school liable.
She is also seeking for a judicial review
and an order quashing the decision of the school dismissing her daughter
without being afforded an opportunity to be heard.
