The hopes of over 3,000 students selected to join medical training colleges were Wednesday dashed again.

This is after the High Court declined to allow them to start lessons.

On September 9, Mr Justice Joseph Onguto barred the students from reporting to various colleges on September 15.

The case to bar the students admitted by the Kenya Medical Training College was filed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services, which claims to be the mandated agency to admit students joining universities and tertiary colleges.

PLEA DECLINED

However, medical college lawyers Paul Lilan and Benson Millimo hastily moved to get the order lifted, saying central placement lawyer Tom Ojienda did not disclose to the court other pending cases.

On Wednesday, Justice Onguto declined to allow the plea by the training college, saying the issues raised by the placement agency are weighty and need to be determined by a full hearing.

The judge disallowed the medical college’s application to dismiss the placement agency case but ordered it to pay costs of the case.

He further directed the case to be heard Friday.

CASE PROCEEDS

Though noting that judge noted that it was not fair for government institutions to engage in such litigation, the judge said the case should be heard.

The medical college and placement agency are battling over which of the two institutions should select students to join health training colleges.

Urging Justice Onguto to set aside the orders he gave on September 9, the college lawyers accused the placement agency, which has recruited parallel trainees, “of failing to disclose similar cases seeking the same relief when it sought orders to bar the students from reporting on September 15.”

Mr Millimo said it is a big embarrassment to the judiciary to issue orders restraining students from joining college when rulings are pending in two similar cases based on same facts in Eldoret and Nakuru.

DUTY BOUND

He urged the judge to rescind the September 9 order as it was an abuse of the court process.

“We appeared and argued with Prof Ojienda as to which among the two agencies is mandated to recruit the students before Justices Jane Mulwa and Maureen Odero in Nakuru,” Mr Millimo told the judge adding: “Prof Ojienda was duty bound to disclose to you that there existed two other cases urging a similar relief.”

“If indeed there was material disclosure, this court would not have granted the relief sought and which had been denied before the Nakuru High Court,” Mr Millimo said adding, “this move makes the High Court in Nairobi appear to be superior to other courts of equal jurisdiction outside the capital city.”