Parents at Makini school are angry after their chairman roped them into a personal legal suit with the institution that will now cost them money after the case was dismissed with costs.
Nixon Bugo, a litigious parent who has antagonized the school for years over trivialities, rallied the rest of his parents over virtual meeting to join a case in which he is accused of defaming the school head, claiming he smoked with students and carried a gun within the school.
After realizing that his baseless claims had landed him in court, Mr Bugo initially tried to have the case thrown out on grounds that the school board had not endorsed his being sued.
When he failed, to stop the case, he tricked members of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) to join the suit, a move the judge also dismissed with costs, noting it was only meant to complicate the proceedings since the association cannot be sued.
“I find the requested joinder of Makini Schools Parents Teachers Association as is, as an interested party, must be denied on the basis that, the proposed Interested Party is not a party capable of suing or be sued and this joinder as is, may create problems down the road, considering the dispute herein is quite contested, and the court’s coercive power may be called upon, in enforcement of any court orders issued,” Judge S. Opande said.
The court’s decision carries financial consequences for the PTA, as they have been ordered to bear the costs associated with both the dismissed application and preliminary objection.
The parents now accuse Mr Bugo of going behind their backs to apply to the courts for the association to be enjoined in a defamation suit in which the school sued him in his personal capacity.
This has sparked a fallout at the parents’ organization as the PTA representatives overwhelmingly moved a motion of no confidence against Mr Bugo while revealing how he has chaired the association with an iron fist including barring elections to replace him after his tenure lapsed.
Mr Bugo has had run-ins with Makini School since he assumed his role in 2019. Instead of fostering collaboration between parents, teachers, and school management, he has weaponized his leadership using parents to antagonize management to push through his personal agendas.
He has become synonymous with a persistent series of baseless wrangles on student enrollment numbers to infrastructural deficiencies and staff mistreatment all of which have been debunked as smoke screens he has been using to leverage for his personal benefits.
Under Bugo’s leadership, the PTA aimed to halt the introduction of the Cambridge curriculum, citing a lack of consultation and incompatibility with Kenya’s education system. Unfortunately, the unintended victims of this conflict could end up being the students, who deserve quality education in a harmonious learning environment.
Mr Bugo is currently facing a defamation lawsuit after making claims suggesting that the school’s management carries firearms on campus and smokes with students.
Court documents reveal that Bugo has convened virtual meetings where he encouraged attendees to take radical actions against the school. Bugo further exacerbated the situation by politicizing management decisions and harassing long-serving staff.
A background check could have helped Makini Parents learn something sinister about their chairman, who has a history of using his position to procure corrupt and unsavory favours then rushing to court to seek protection.
Mr Bugo lost his employment as the Head of Banking and Innovative Finance at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa(AGRA) after he allegedly tried to force a contractor to hire a relation into the board in exchange for a tender.
Court documents show that a whistleblower sounded the alarm, revealing Mr Bugo had leaked the tender documents to select Technical Service Providers (TSPs), raising eyebrows about potential favoritism.
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