High Court Rejects Bid to Replace English in Kenyan Classrooms

The High Court in Kakamega has rejected a petition seeking to replace English with Kiswahili and indigenous languages as the main languages of instruction in Kenyan schools, leaving the country’s wider debate over language and access to education firmly in focus.

In a decision reported on November 11, following a judgment delivered on November 9, Justice Stephen Mbungi dismissed a case filed by education rights advocate Ernest Achesa Makhambala.

Makhambala had argued that relying on English for teaching and national assessments from Grade 4 to Grade 12 placed some learners at a disadvantage, particularly children from rural communities and those who were less fluent in the language.

He wanted the court to direct the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to introduce Kiswahili and indigenous languages progressively as alternative languages of instruction and assessment.

The petition also questioned the treatment of indigenous language activities as non-formal programmes in Grades 4 to 9. Makhambala argued that this denied local languages the recognition and status they deserved in the education system.

Why the court rejected the petition

Justice Mbungi found that the petitioner had not provided sufficient evidence to show that the use of English violated learners’ constitutional rights or denied them access to free and compulsory basic education.

The judge acknowledged the constitutional importance of indigenous languages but observed that the law does not require every school to use a child’s mother tongue as its language of instruction.

"It is impracticable to expect that every child can be brought in their own mother tongue/indigenous language as the Petitioner put it," the judge observed.

The court also found that the absence of approved textbooks in some indigenous languages did not, on its own, amount to a government ban on their use.

It noted that existing law allows children in early childhood and lower primary education to be taught in a language of their choice where this is reasonably practicable.

The judge further found that Makhambala had not shown which relevant considerations education authorities had ignored when developing the curriculum, or established that the decision to use English was unreasonable.

The petition was therefore dismissed for failure to prove the alleged constitutional violations.

What the Constitution says about language in education

The ruling comes against a constitutional framework that recognises both the need for common official languages and the protection of Kenya’s linguistic diversity.

Article 7 of the Constitution identifies Kiswahili as the national language and Kiswahili and English as the official languages. It also requires the State to protect the country’s linguistic diversity and promote the development and use of indigenous languages.

Article 44 separately protects an individual’s right to use a language of their choice and participate in the cultural life of their choice.

The Basic Education Act also provides for children in early childhood and lower primary to receive instruction in a language of their choice where reasonably practicable.

These provisions show that the promotion of indigenous languages is a constitutional responsibility, even as English and Kiswahili serve as the country’s official languages.

The wider question for Kenya’s education system

Although the petition has been dismissed, the concerns raised touch on a practical challenge facing schools: how to ensure that a learner’s ability to understand the language of instruction does not become a barrier to learning.

For children who mainly speak a local language at home, the transition to English as the language of classroom instruction can present difficulties. The petitioner argued that this could affect their ability to follow lessons and demonstrate what they know during assessments.

The court’s decision, however, was about whether the petitioner had proved that the existing policy breached constitutional rights. It was not an order barring schools from using indigenous languages, nor did it remove the State’s constitutional duty to promote them.

The ruling leaves education authorities with the responsibility of balancing a shared language of instruction with the need to preserve local languages and support learners with different language backgrounds.

For now, English remains central to instruction and assessment in the grades challenged by the petition. But the broader question of how Kenya can make learning accessible while protecting its linguistic heritage remains part of the country’s education debate.

About the Author

Maureen Onyango is a journalist passionate about storytelling, life coaching and spiritual lessons. She studied at the Kenya Institute of Management and enjoys telling stories that inform, inspire and empower communities.