The government’s mandate that parents use eCitizen to pay school fees has been declared unlawful by the High Court.
Additionally, the directive was revoked by Justice Chacha Mwita in a January 2024 memo issued by Belio Kipsang, the Education Principal Secretary at the time.
The court determined that the directive violated constitutional requirements since it was adopted without sufficient public consultation and partner interaction.
Additionally, Justice Mwita determined that there is no legal justification for the Sh50 convenience fee that is applied to e-Citizen transactions.
The court pointed out that the fee was a double charge and that the government was making people pay to maintain a system they had not requested.
According to him, the convenience fee is illegal as there is no explanation of who would get it or how it would be used.
Dr. Magare Gikenyi, a surgeon from Nakuru, filed the lawsuit, claiming that there is no framework or legislation governing the use of the money or its return to the end users.
The petitioner also questioned the Sh50 transaction fee’s justification, claiming that it would penalize parents who pay in-kind expenses. Additionally, he contended that requiring parents to pay fees through e-Citizen was against statutory and constitutional protections and was decided upon without consulting the public.
He claimed that parents without mobile phones or internet access were not taken into consideration by the directive.
