The High Court has quashed a directive issued by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale seeking to discontinue Mount Kenya University’s (MKU) Bachelor of Science in Oral Health programme, handing a major victory to more than 225 students whose academic future had been thrown into uncertainty.
In a judgment delivered by Justice William Musyoka at the Milimani High Court, the court ruled that Duale acted outside his legal mandate when he directed the university to stop offering the degree programme.
“Consequently, the 1st respondent (Health CS Duale) has no power, under the Universities Act, to order discontinuance of a degree programme of a university in Kenya,” ruled Justice Musyoka.
The case was filed by the Oral Health Association of Kenya, which challenged a February 3, 2026 letter allegedly authored by the Health CS directing the university to discontinue the programme.
The Ministry of Health had argued that the course did not align with the country’s oral health needs and lacked a clearly established service delivery gap within the healthcare system.
In the directive, the ministry had warned that students risked investing time and resources in a qualification that lacked a clear professional pathway and ordered the university to develop a transition plan for affected students within 21 days.
However, Justice Musyoka found that authority over accreditation and approval of university academic programmes rests exclusively with the Commission for University Education (CUE) under the Universities Act.
“It would be clear that it is the exclusive function and mandate of the interested party (CUE) to accredit universities, and to approve their academic programmes,” the judge stated.
The court rejected the ministry’s argument that the contested letter merely offered advice to the university and did not amount to a binding directive.
“The phrase, ‘you are advised,’ is deceptively polite, intended to soften the otherwise blunt message that is being conveyed, that the university should close shop, so far as that programme is concerned,” Justice Musyoka ruled.
He further noted that requiring the institution to prepare a transition plan demonstrated that implementation of the directive had already been set in motion.
“To be required to do something is to be commanded to do it, or to be ordered or directed,” the judge observed.
The court also faulted the Health Ministry for communicating directly with the university on matters relating to academic programmes without involving the Ministry of Education.
“Any direct official communication, by the 1st respondent (Health CS), with a university on an academic programme it runs, without reference to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for education, would be improper, unreasonable, irresponsible and in bad faith,” he ruled.
Justice Musyoka added that the ministry’s actions amounted to statutory overreach and usurpation of powers reserved for education regulators.
The Oral Health Association of Kenya had argued that the directive threatened the constitutional right to education of more than 225 students enrolled in the programme and had been issued without public participation, stakeholder consultations or notice to affected learners.
The dispute emerged amid wider concerns within Kenya’s dental sector over the accreditation and regulation of oral health training programmes. Earlier this year, the Kenya Dental Association petitioned Parliament over concerns that graduates of certain oral health programmes could be misrepresented as dentists despite not having undergone accredited dental surgery training.
In its final orders, the High Court allowed the application, quashed the directive issued by the Health CS, prohibited interference with the programme and affirmed the legality of the degree course.
The ruling is expected to provide relief to students enrolled in the programme while clarifying the limits of ministerial authority over academic programmes offered by Kenyan universities.
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