The Employment and Labour Relations Court has declined to stop the transfer of former Highway Secondary School principal Patrick Irungu Nduati, who challenged his deployment to a school in Machakos County, saying it amounted to demotion.
Mr Nduati was transferred to Katani Secondary School on August 27, and claims to have been given two days to hand over and report to his new posting.
The court, however, declined to stop the transfer, saying the deployment will remain in force, pending determination of the case.
Mr Nduati had also challenged the move, arguing that he is 58 years old and had two years to retirement, had risen to the highest rank of chief principal, and therefore required protection from the court.
But when they appeared before court, the principal, through his lawyer, confirmed that he had already reported to Katani Secondary School and taken over the institution before later handing over the administration of Highway Secondary School.
“The transfer is deliberately intended to humiliate and belittle a long-serving career civil servant,” Mr Nduati said in the petition.
The court directed the parties to file written submissions, with the matter set for mention on 10 December 2026 to confirm compliance and take a ruling date.
Mr Nduati argued that he was serving as Chief Principal of Highway Secondary School, an Extra-County C2 school, a position commensurate with a D5 Principal (TSC Scale 15).
However, Katani Secondary School, where he was deployed to, is a Sub-County C4 school, which under the Teachers Service Commission’s own grading system and Circular number 12 of 2026, is to be headed by a D3 Principal (TSC Scale 13).
“The urgency of this application therefore is that, the intended arbitrary transfer has been scheduled during the Third School Term, with national examinations set to commence in less than a month,” he said.
Mr Nduati added that his abrupt disruption was not only against the TSC’s own established practice of effecting transfers only during school holidays, but it is also profoundly against the best interests of the learners at both Highway Secondary School (with approximately 1,200 students) and Katani Secondary School.
TSC, through lawyer Jared Gekombe, submitted that the Commission's Legal Directorate was served with the court papers on 11 September 2026, nearly a week after Mr Nduati had reported to Katani and took over office.
Mr Gekombe submitted that by his own actions, Mr Nduati had effectively implemented the transfer before seeking the court's intervention.
The Commission further told the court that the Principal never utilised the appeal mechanism contained in the transfer letter, which allowed an aggrieved teacher to appeal within 14 days.
According to TSC, no appeal or complaint was ever lodged before the Commission.
Dr Samuel Marigat, the acting director of staffing at TSC, maintained that the transfer was lawful, procedural, justified and undertaken pursuant to the constitutional and statutory mandate of the employer, under Article 237 of the Constitution, the Teachers Service Commission Act and the Policy on Appointment and Deployment of Institutional Administrators.
TSC defended the transfer as a management decision informed by repeated unrest at Highway Secondary School, including two separate fire incidents that resulted in dormitories being destroyed.
“Contrary to the Claimant's assertion that the transfer was arbitrary, punitive or intended to victimize him, the Commission's decision was also informed by the Claimant's own expressed concerns regarding his personal security and continued stay at Highway Secondary School,” Dr Marigat said.
The teachers’ employer said Mr Nduati had personally communicated concerns relating to threats allegedly arising from a land dispute involving school property and expressed apprehension regarding his continued safety at the institution.
The Commission said in response that it relied on Ministry of Education investigation reports which identified concerns relating to school management, implementation of recommendations and learner welfare.
