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By Evarist Baimu Nyaga Mawalla - Home

By Evarist Baimu Nyaga Mawalla - Home

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principles. With considerable amount of ingenuity, Mr. Shio submitted that thepeculiar natural of student’s affairs demands that a school Board acts swiftlywhen dealing with delicate situations involving discipline at the school. I canappreciate the force of this argument, but I do not think the contention iscapable of constituting a justification in law for the Board’s omission to givethe applicants opportunity to correct, contradict or comment on what wasalleged against then. Speed is no doubt a good thing but fairnoss is beteer. Itis utterly wrong for a school board to a crifice the latter at the later of theformer. Be that as it may, if a school Board is of the considered view that theinterests of the school community or the community at large demand that anaccused student be immediately separated from the rest of the schooloccumity, it can sufficiently protect those interests by suspending the studentfrom the school pending inguiry. The school Board need not give the affectedstudent opportunity to show cause why be should not be so suspended. Thisis because principles of natural justice do not apply to suspension pendinginquiry: Lewis v Heffer (1978) W.L.R. 1061.For the reasons I have given, I agree with Mbogoro, counsel for the applicant,that the Board strayed into a serious error in not complying with the principlesof natural justice. Having expressed that view, I ask myself this question: isthere need of proof of prejudice when non-observance of principles of naturaljustice is established? The authorities. In S.L.Kapoor v Jagnchap (1987) LRC(Const.) 351, at pp.377 – 378) the Supreme Court of India dealt with the610

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