A Nakuru-based surgeon has gone to court to block a government directive on payment of school fees through the e-Citizen platform.
In a petition filed at the Milimani High Court, Dr Magare Gikenyi is seeking a court order suspending enforcement of the government's directive requiring parents to pay school fees through the electronic platform.
Gikenyi argues that these directives lack legality and constitutionality due to a lack of public participation.
”All these so-called good programmes of improving service delivery through e-Citizen were made without public participation. The so-called convenience fee of Sh50 was arrived at capriciously, whimsically, without any formula and without any iota of public participation,” Dr Gikenyi said.
The surgeon alleges that the Principal Secretary for Education, Dr Belio Kipsang, issued a circular on January 31 instructing school principals to prepare for the new payment system without the necessary public participation.
He points out that a gazette notification by Cabinet Secretary for Finance Njuguna Ndung'u introduced a Sh50 convenience fee for each transaction on the e-Citizen platform, a decision the petitioner said is unreliable and without public input.
Dr Gikenyihas also questioned the rationale behind charging Kenyans a Sh50 convenience fee, claiming that citizens already incur transaction costs through paybill services.
He argues that this fee appears to be a scheme to benefit unknown individuals at the expense of hardworking Kenyans.
The petition highlights the lack of alternatives considered before the M-Pesa system was chosen and raises concerns about the use and transparency of the funds collected.
The petition targets key government ministries, including Treasury, Interior, Information Communication Technology and Education, as well as institutions such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Attorney-General.
The Council of Governors, the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, the Kenya Primary Schools Headteachers Association, the Kenya Parents Association and the Consumer Federation of Kenya are also listed as interested parties.
Dr Gikenyi is seeking a declaration from the court that the introduction of convenience fees without public participation and statutory guidelines is unconstitutional and void.
He is also seeking an order quashing the gazette notice introducing the County Single Account System and the Sh50 convenience fee, as well as the directive for the new fee payment system.
The petition comes as universities, including the University of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, announced the introduction of the new payment system for canteen meals.
