High Court awards UoN graduate Ksh. 3 million over Graduation Day dispute

The High Court has ordered the University of Nairobi to pay graduate Marceline Murono Ksh. 3 million after finding that the institution violated her constitutional rights by removing her name from the graduation list on the day she was scheduled to graduate in December 2023.

Murono was scheduled to graduate during the university’s 70th graduation ceremony on December 15, 2023. The court found that she had been cleared to graduate, issued with a graduation gown and allowed to attend the official rehearsal on the eve of the ceremony.

Her name was later removed from the final graduation booklet without prior notice. 

Murono reportedly discovered the omission on the morning of the ceremony after a soft copy of the booklet was circulated in a class WhatsApp group.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi found that the university had not communicated the decision to Murono beforehand or given her an opportunity to respond. 

The judge held that this violated her right to fair administrative action.

The university had argued that Murono used the wrong form during the clearance process and made a payment through an incorrect university account. 

However, the court rejected the explanation after considering evidence presented during the proceedings.

The court heard that Murono had contacted a university finance officer on November 22, 2023, and provided her registration details in an attempt to resolve the payment issue. 

""There had been no prior communication of any kind as to this outcome, which, to say the least, is an actual disregard of the legitimate expectation principle,” he ruled. 

The judge considered the communication when assessing how the university handled her clearance.

Justice Mugambi found that the university violated Article 47 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable, efficient, expeditious and procedurally fair.

The court also found violations of Murono’s right to human dignity under Article 28 and her protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 29.

The judge noted that Murono had invited family members, relatives, friends and colleagues to celebrate her graduation. 

Her exclusion on the actual graduation day therefore had significant consequences for her dignity and caused considerable embarrassment.

The university argued that Murono should first have exhausted its internal dispute-resolution mechanisms before approaching the High Court. Justice Mugambi rejected the argument, finding that although such mechanisms existed formally, they had not provided meaningful redress in the circumstances of the case.

Apart from the Ksh. 3 million compensation, the court awarded Murono KSh24,000 in special damages and ordered the university to issue her with an unqualified apology within 30 days.

If the apology is not issued within that period, the compensation will increase by a further Ksh. 1 million.

The University of Nairobi was granted a 30-day stay of execution after its lawyer indicated that instructions were being sought on whether to appeal the judgment.