Moi University sues for School of Law closure directive

Moi University has sued the Council for Legal Education (CLE) following a directive to shut down its School of Law in two months time.

CLE had earlier stated that Moi University’s School of Law was required to submit a closure plan within the next two months for considerations by the council.

CLE ordered the closure of the school for allegedly defying set regulations.

CLE called for the closure of the school over apparent failure to meet set standards saying the School of Law had failed to meet requirements to offer the courses and performed poorly in September during the inspection of facilities and resources used to offer the law program.

“For the time being, the facilities and resources at Moi University School of Law do not meet the required threshold for full accreditation under section 19 (1) of the Legal Education Act and Inspection Guidelines.”

The council ordered Moi University to put in place a plan for either teaching out current students or transferring them to licensed institutions and further called on the university to devise a management plan for its academic staff.

The decision for closure has thrown into jeopardy the future of over 1,500 students in the school.

In a letter to Vice-Chancellor Prof. Richard Mibey, the council said it ordered the closure on August 28th after an inspection showed that Moi University did not have the capacity to offer law courses.

The move to close the school also elicited a wide disapproval from a group of lawyers, who are alumni of the school.

The group termed the move impolitic, saying Moi University has the best facilities and has been producing some of the country’s top lawyers.

The Dean of the Faculty of Law Mr. Henry Lugulu on the other hand maintained that the institution had the capacity to offer legal training.

“We are in discussions with the council and other agencies, we are handling the situation,” Lugulu said.

Last year, the school was closed indefinitely after students went on rampage for not being taught for close to a month.