Mandera South residents sue MP, NG-CDF over wasteful school project
By Zipporah Ngwatu, August 27, 202530 petitioners from Mandera South Constituency have sued the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) office and their Member of Parliament (MP), Mandera South MP Haro Abdul Ebrahim. PHOTO/Screengrab by K24 Digital, over the construction of a new secondary school next to an existing one, against their wishes.
According to the petitioners, the construction of Gode Secondary School next to Borehole Eleven Mixed Secondary School is a waste of the constituency’s resources, which they argue should instead be directed to other important projects.
They further assert that the respondents (NG-CDF and MP Haro) secretly sanctioned the construction of the school against their protests—which were ignored—and without public participation, terming it a clear wastage of public funds.
Through a certificate of urgency filed at the Milimani Constitutional and Human Rights Division on August 21, 2025, the residents are seeking a court declaration that the respondents’ approval of the construction of the new school is a violation of their constitutional rights.
“A declaration be and is hereby issued that the decision by the 1st Respondent (NG-CDF) to approve and allocate funds to the construction of Gode Secondary School without public participation was invalid, as it suppresses the right to fair administrative action enshrined in Article 47 of the Constitution,” part of the application reads.
“That a declaration be and is hereby issued that the actions of the 1st and 2nd Respondents (NG-CDF and MP Haro) to approve the construction of Gode Secondary School without community involvement threatened and violated the petitioners’ right to public participation as provided for in Article 10(2)(a), and that the said construction undermined the infrastructure upgrade of Borehole Eleven Mixed Secondary School in violation of Article 43(1)(f),” the application further reads.
The petitioners also seek a court declaration that the ongoing construction is unlawful, arguing that the decision giving rise to the project is invalid.
The Mandera South residents now want the court to order the NG-CDF board and their MP to demolish Gode Secondary School and redirect the funds allocated to the project to other initiatives of their choice.
“An order compelling the respondents (NG-CDF and MP Haro) and persons claiming through them to pull down the structure already constructed of the purported Gode Secondary School and reallocate the funds to other projects,” the application states.