Dispute: Migori man sneaks into school, ploughs the compound

Kosodo Secondary Principal William Otayo (right) with villagers at a section of the school's land that was ploughed on Saturday night. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Education authorities in Migori are investigating an incidence in which a man sneaked into a school and ploughed the compound.

Villagers and parents were yesterday shocked to find Kosodo Mixed Secondary School in Rongo turned into one big farm.

Reports indicated that the suspect was a member of one of the many families that donated the land on which the school is built.

He is said to have fallen out with the school authorities after he was dropped from the board of management.

Opondo Mikwa, a resident, said many families came together in 1978 and donated nearly five acres to the community to start Kosodo Primary School.

Mr Mikawa said Kosodo Mixed was only started last year in the same compound.

He said the suspect had driven a tractor on the land on Saturday evening and proceeded to till the land, saying it still belonged to his family.

“We fail to understand how one person from a family can plough land that was donated to the school a long time ago by the grandfather,” said Mikwa.

Title deed

He added: “We know that the school doesn’t have a title deed, but it was donated by a group of people to the Government, not by one person.” 

Mikawa said the suspect had all along been a member of the Board of Management. “But this year he was not elected and we suspect that this could be the reason he has done such an evil thing to the school.”

The man named by Mikawa appeared to justify the ploughing, saying the school’s management had sidelined families that donated the land.

“Let them make noise, but we want Education CS Amina Mohamed and her Interior and Coordination counterpart Fred Matiang’i to come and settle the land dispute once and for all,” he said.

Rongo sub-county Education Quality Assurance Officer David Ragot said the incident was a ‘criminal act’.

Mr Ragot said the land belonged to the school because the villagers had voluntarily donated it.

“If the man who claims to be the land owner has not ploughed it for over 40 years, why now? I think there is something wrong with him,” said Ragot.

“We have written a letter to the Migori County Government requesting them to take appropriate action against the suspect. There has been no arrest, but the police have visited the school and are investigating,” said Ragot.

Principal William Otayo said he had recorded a statement at a local police station.