The Inspector General of Police (IG) Douglas Kanja has told a Milimani High Court that he was made aware of the Gatoto Community Primary School dispute on Thursday, July 23, 2026, when he was briefed that he had been summoned to court.

Judge Gregory Mutai ordered Kanja, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Eliud Lagat and Principal Secretary for Basic Education Julius Bitok Ololtuaa to appear before him on Friday, July 24, 2026, and explain to the court the alleged failure to comply with court orders.

On June 25, 2026, Judge Mutai directed the PS Julius Bitok and the County Education Board to register Gatoto Community Primary School as a private Non- Profit Based APBET Primary School within the meaning of the Basic Education Act under the ownership and management of the said institution.

Further, Justice Mutai ordered that the ownership and management of the Gatoto Community Based Primary School be restored to the petitioners’ Board of Management, Gatoto Primary School, the board of directors, Gatoto Primary School and Felix Mwangangi Maundu on July 2, 2026.

Court order

Notably, the court ordered the Makadara OCPD to ensure that during the handing back over of the school to the petitioners, there was security with at least 3 police officers present.

During cross-examination by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Charles Kanjama, Kanja has maintained that he was not aware of the High Court orders that required the Gatoto School to be handed back over to the board of management.

Further, he has told the court that the said matter has been under the care of the local Officer Commanding Station (OCS).

“My Lord, I have said there before, I got to know about these orders yesterday, Thursday, July 23, 2026, but I further got to understand that the local Officer Commanding Station (OCS) has been dealing with them,’ IG Kanja told the court.

Further, Kanjama asked Kanja to tell the court why officers who are under him have repeatedly failed to comply with court orders on the basis of saying there are orders from above.

“My question to you is, are you the person who exercises independent command of the entire National Police Service?” LSK President Kanjama asked IG Kanja.

In his response, the IG stated that he does exercise command in the entire National Police Service, but the NPS has a structure through which it works.

He has told the court that the Gatoto Primary matter is supposed to be handled at the level of a sub-county police commander, where the OCS in question is impossible.