Kenya has defended itself in the regional court against claims that it is denying some 5,000 pupils, allegedly evicted from the Mau Forest, their right to basic education.

Responding to an application by the Governor for Kericho, Prof Paul Chepkwony, Kenya’s deputy chief state counsel, Oscar Eredi told the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) that no school buildings or property were destroyed during the evictions.

He told the court that the pupils in question were victims of fighting that had erupted immediately after the Mau Forest evictions.

Prof Chepkwony, in a temporary application, wants the court to compel the government to provide the 5,000 pupils with temporary education facilities.

The governor has taken the government to court over the eviction of hundreds of families from the forest, accusing it of human rights abuses.

He says government officers and agents forcibly evicted civilians from their homes adjacent to the Mau Forest in a cruel, horrifying, degrading, traumatising and inhumane manner.

The regional court is one of the organs of the East African Community. Its main responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty. The jurisdiction of the court is also indirectly extends to human rights.

Mr Chepkwony, who had privately filed the case at the regional court on behalf of minors evicted from the Mau Forest between June and August this year, says he has the consent of the victims’ parents and guardians.

He said that he resorted to the regional court after exhausting local mechanisms in Kenya.

In the case, the governor says pupils from 23 primary schools had been denied their right to food, shelter, health facilities and access to pre-primary and primary education as a result of the evictions.

His lawyer, Kimutai Bosek, told the court that the lives of the pupils would be irreparably damaged as a result of the government’s failure to provide them with their right to education.

But Mr Eredi said, “Only one registered primary school was affected by the clashes and the government of Kenya has already taken measures to ensure the 30 victims continue attending school without fail."