Kenya School of Law barred from administering exam

NAIROBI: The High Court has temporarily suspended the Kenya School of Law's (KSL) pre-bar examination pending the hearing of a suit filed by students.

High Court judge George Odunga yesterday directed the matter to proceed to hearing so that the court can determine the issues raised by the students in relation to the relevance of the examination.

"I hereby issue a temporary order suspending the notification of the pre-bar examination and staying all the proceedings relating to the pre-bar examination," Justice Odunga said.

Odunga directed the matter to be heard on October 28.

The students had gone to court seeking to stop KSL from administering the examination before students join the college.

Kariuki Muchemi, a student of Mt Kenya University, argued KSL breached the law since a three-year grace period before which the pre-bar examination would commence had not lapsed.

The Kenya School of Law Act 2012 gave a grace period of three years to allow students already in law school at various universities to complete their studies and join KSL without the pre-bar examination.

However, the 3,000 students from 11 universities who have filed their case through Mr Muchemi argued that they joined law school before the act came into force and therefore they ought to be allowed to join KSL without undertaking the examination.

"There was a legitimate expectation that immediately I was conferred or eligible for conferment of an LLB degree, I would gain direct admission to the Kenya School of Law since I joined Mt Kenya University way before the Kenya School of Law Act 2012 came into force," said Muchemi in his affidavit to court.

KSL last week placed an advertisement in local dailies inviting students who intend to join the college to prepare for the pre-bar examination. The students want the examination slated for November cancelled and KSL barred from administering any pre-bar test until the transition period is over.