A tribunal has ordered a Kajiado secondary school and its principal to pay a minor Sh1.2 million as damages for unlawful disclosure of her HIV status to teachers and other learners.
The HIV and AIDS Tribunal found that the school administrator unlawfully disclosed the girl's medical condition and discriminated against her, contributing to her departure from the institution due to stigma.
The girl, identified as DN in the court papers, moved to the tribunal last year alleging that teachers disclosed her HIV status without consent and the school principal told her parents to take her away because she was HIV-positive.
She testified that the ordeal began when she walked into the staffroom after completing a punishment and found teachers discussing her health.
She said a teacher asked whether she had taken her antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). She said this question prompted her to leave the school and go to live with her sister. When she later tried to return, she said the school refused to readmit her.
DN sued the school, the principal and two teachers over alleged disclosure and HIV-related discrimination. She claimed that the teachers made the disclosure to the other learners and even to the spouse of one of the teachers.
Her mother testified that the school principal first called to say DN had run away. In a later phone call, the principal allegedly told her to pick up the girl because she had HIV and she did not want her at the school or in Kajiado.
Her father said the principal also called him and asked him to go and pick up DN because she was HIV positive. He said the principal also asked him: “unajua mtoto wako ako na ukimwi? (Do you know your child has HIV?)” The father said he had not contacted the school or received a call from DN before the principal called him.
Another witness was DN's sister, who testified that the principal summoned a male student, described as the girl's boyfriend, and asked whether he knew she was HIV-positive and was taking ARVs. The girl was schooling through a Catholic church sponsorship.
The sponsor’s representative, named TM in the papers, testified that DN told her that she ran away from school because of stigma from teachers and students. “Teachers were talking about her HIV status,” said the witness.
The principal denied disclosure. She said DN had revealed her status during a sponsorship interview by an organisation called CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education). The interview was attended by the principal and a class teacher. The committee approved the sponsorship. Minutes dated the interview on October 5, 2024.
The principal said DN had disciplinary problems and had run away from school on more than one occasion. She said the school planned to move her from boarding to day attendance before approving her guardian's transfer request. She denied expelling her, saying a principal lacked that authority.
The boarding teacher said she helped DN but did not know her HIV status, while the class teacher confirmed attending the CAMFED interview. Both denied disclosure.
“The complainant’s case is that her HIV status was exposed without consent, resulting in stigma, emotional distress and her eventual departure from the school,” said her lawyer, Mr Ian Nyboma.
In its judgment, the Tribunal dismissed the claims against the school's boarding teacher and the girl's class teacher, who were accused of discussing and disclosing her HIV status, citing insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations against them.
The principal had testified that she believed DN's complaint that teachers discussed her status and called a staff meeting to correct them. Although she denied raising the HIV issue, the class teacher confirmed that she did.
The tribunal called this “corroboration sufficient to meet the criteria” for proving disclosure. It said disclosure to the CAMFED committee did not permit members to expose the girl's status.
“A person’s HIV status is a private affair and should not be disclosed to third parties without his/her consent,” it ruled.
The tribunal also found no proof of formal expulsion. It examined a June 6, 2025 letter from the guardian protesting an alleged unlawful expulsion and seeking transfer documents. The principal later issued a clearance form attributing the transfer to the guardian's request.
The tribunal inferred from the complaint, clearance form and disclosure that the principal wanted DN out.
“We find that though discrimination may not have been directly proven, on a balance of probabilities the same could be inferred by the actions of the second respondent (principal),” it said.
A counsellor's letter dated July 5, 2025, showed the girl had been mentally affected. The Tribunal awarded her Sh500,000 for disclosure, Sh300,000 for discrimination and Sh400,000 for emotional and psychological harm.
The school was held responsible for the principal's actions. The two are required to pay the Sh1.2 million jointly and severally, plus legal costs and interest.
The HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act, 2006, bars schools from expelling, disciplining, segregating or denying benefits solely because of actual, perceived or suspected HIV status. Sections 22 and 23 of the Act protect confidentiality.
The Tribunal made it clear that schools must protect learners' HIV information, including when disclosed for sponsorship. It found that discrimination may arise from the circumstances of a transfer, without formal expulsion.
