President Ruto slams attempt to stop Nairobi school feeding programme in court

President William Ruto has now slammed individuals who filed a petition in court seeking to stop the Nairobi County school feeding programme last month.

The President, who spoke at State House on Tuesday after receiving a report by the Presidential Working Party on Educational Reforms, sensationally chewed out the petitioners terming them ‘inhumane’ in their push to stop the Ksh.1.7 billion programme that was meant to benefit vulnerable children in schools.

He lectured them for their attempts to stop the program that was rolled out by Governor Johnson Sakaja in June, reiterating that if the courts had not declined to issue suspension orders, then needy children in schools would continue to suffer.

In his remarks, the Head of State wondered how a morally upstanding citizen could seek court orders to stop poor children from benefiting from free meals in schools.

“In our midst, we also have people who are not very good. Some fellow went to court to stop us from feeding hungry school children; just imagine,” the President said.

“He went to court to stop the school feeding programme that gives opportunities to children from poor families who cannot afford a meal to find a meal in school. And somebody has the temerity and moral fibre to go to court to stop it!”

According to the President, Kenyans ought to be considerate and be bound by morals in their push for a better society.

He hence lauded the court for upholding the program saying: "Luckily for us, and unluckily for them, they found some humane people in court who told them that they could not stop hungry children from having a meal."

“That is the kind of society we want to build, where we can build firmly and decisively with heartless people.”

The Tunza Mtoto Coalition lobby group and its Executive Director Janet Ouko had moved to court arguing that the school feeding programme is not the mandate of a county government, but that of the national government.

The petitioners asked the court to bar Governor Sakaja from utilising any of the funds allocated to the ‘Dishi na County’ programme.

High Court Judge Mugure Thande however declined to stop the program saying it would prejudice the children who are benefiting from it.

“I decline to grant any conservatory orders, to suspend the program at this stage would be against the best interest of the children who are targeted to benefit from the program,” Justice Thande ruled.