Jail PLO Lumumba for contempt, Ugandan university asks court told

NAIROBI: A Ugandan university is now seeking to have the Kenya School of Law (KSL) Director PLO Lumumba committed to six months in civil jail for contempt of court.

This comes only months after 26 students from the same institution filed a similar case against Lumumba.

The Uganda Pentecostal University has accused Lumumba of failing to readmit 26 of its students even after the High Court directed him to do so.

High Court Judge Justice Weldon Korir, on October 31, 2014, issued an order quashing the decision of KSL to suspend recognition of the Ugandan institution's law degree programme.

In February, this year, the 26 students filed an application to have Lumumba committed to civil jail for failing to comply with the court orders.

Lumumba appeared in court and assured the court that his institution would decide on the fate of the students.

Uganda Pentecostal Vice Chancellor John Ntambirweki informed High Court Judge George Odunga on Tuesday that the said court order was duly served on Lumumba.

University lawyer Steven Nzaku told the court that it took two months for KSL to respond to the applications by the 26 students despite being served with the court order.

In an affidavit, Ntambikirweki explained that the students were admitted only after a demand letter was sent, and were later dismissed after KSL stated that the admission letters were issued by mistake.

"It is a clear pointer that the institution is not willing or ready to absorb their former students for the Advocates Training Programme, hence they have continued to ignore and neglect the said court order for no apparent reason," he said.

Justice Odunga directed the respondents to file their responses before the matter is heard on June 8.