September 23, 2023
KAMPALA, Uganda – The Kampala based Civil Division High Court Judge, Musa Ssekaana, has dismissed a case filed by a senior six student at St. Peters Senior Secondary School Naalya, seeking an order compelling the school to readmit her after she was suspended from school over drug related issues.
The case began when Tracy Natukunda Bamanya received a suspension letter dated August 11, 2022, on allegations of misconduct, including the possession of drugs. Natukunda, in her affidavit stated that she was not given a chance to defend herself against these allegations. She claimed that her attempts to discuss the matter with the head teacher were in vain, as her mother’s invitation for a discussion also went unanswered.
Despite pending disciplinary proceedings, as the date for school reopening on September 4, 2022, approached, Natukunda filed an application seeking interim orders to halt the school’s decision and allow her to return to school, study, and write her exams while awaiting the outcome of her main application.
Natukunda argued that failure to grant these orders would jeopardize her chances of completing the syllabus and could lead to her failure in the final exams. However, the school’s head teacher, John Katongole, opposed the application, asserting that Natukunda posed a threat to both the school and her fellow students.
Katongole explained that in the first term of the 2022 academic year, Natukunda was found in possession of cannabis, a banned substance, and a matchbox. Natukunda admitted wrongdoing and apologized, but it was also discovered that she had been distributing cannabis-laced cookies to her colleagues.
The school attempted to address the issue through a disciplinary meeting, but neither Natukunda nor her mother attended. Consequently, the school decided to suspend her indefinitely due to concerns about her disruptive behavior and the potential danger she posed to other students.
In his ruling, Justice Musa Ssekaana dismissed Natukunda’s interim application, stating that her presence in the school posed a danger to the health and safety of the students. He emphasized that schools, as public institutions, should not be prevented from exercising disciplinary powers when faced with grave violations of their rules and national laws, unless the applicant can establish that the school is acting unlawfully.
Judge Ssekaana stressed that the school’s disciplinary actions should be deemed to be in the public good until proven otherwise. He concluded that the school should be given the benefit of the doubt in exercising its disciplinary powers, considering Natukunda’s rights and the safety of the school community.
