Mukuru kwa Njenga slum residents, Nairobi, say they will file a fresh court case to block Gatoto Community Primary School from being turned into a private non-profit institution.

The residents argue that the move will deny thousands of children in the informal settlement access to affordable education.

Through their lawyers Danstan Omari and Martina Swiga, the community and school officials have petitioned the ministry of education to retain the school as a public institution under government control.

“The matter is about protecting the right to education for children from informal settlements,” the lawyers said in the petition to the ministry.

Their move follows a June 25, 2026 High Court ruling by Judge Gregory Mutai. Judge Mutai ordered the principal secretary for basic education and the county education board to register Gatoto as a private APBET institution.

The residents say the school was built through community resource mobilisation and should therefore remain public.

“We reject the court decision and will seek fresh legal intervention. Gatoto belongs to the community,” one of the residents s said.

The community also disputes ownership of the land, saying it was donated for public use.

“The land was given so children here could learn. It was never meant for private ownership,” another resident said.

Scholastica Mwongeli, a long-time resident, said Gatoto opened in 1994, not 2006 as claimed in court.

“Some of those now claiming ownership were once pupils here. The community fought to secure the land for government because this has always been a community school,” she said.

They appealed to the ministry of education and other agencies to intervene before the July 3 mention at the school on this day local administrators and the OCPD Makadara are expected to attend.

• A Tell Media report / By Elizabeth Were