The Aden Duale Order on Hijab: Shoild Church-Run Schools Be Compelled to Allow the Hijab?

Duale's vow to act reopens a question the courts have left unanswered since 2019.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has vowed to personally contact schools that bar Muslim girls from wearing the hijab, calling it discrimination based on religion.

Speaking in Nakuru at the launch of Al-Rahma Mosque and Islamic Centre and Waqf Flats, he said no one should limit Kenyans' right to worship.

His promise raises an old question: can a school be forced to accommodate a religious dress practice?

What the Constitution says

Article 32 guarantees freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion, including the right to manifest religion through worship, practice, teaching or observance.

In 2016, the Court of Appeal also relied on Article 27(5) on equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

The 2019 ruling that still governs

The dispute centred on St Paul's Kiwanjani Secondary in Isiolo, a school run by the Methodist Church.

The High Court ruled in 2015 that allowing the hijab was illegal and discriminatory. In 2016 the Court of Appeal reversed that and told the Education CS to ensure uniform rules do not discriminate on religion.

In January 2019, the Supreme Court quashed the appellate decision by a 4-1 majority.

The judges said every school has a right to determine its own rules. One commentator noted the majority focused largely on procedural points rather than the underlying rights.

The court said a fresh petition could be filed at the High Court. The guidelines the Court of Appeal ordered were never issued.

The 2026 flashpoints

• Samira Ramadhan, a 15-year-old, was reportedly assured at admission that she could keep her hijab at St Mary's Lwak Girls in Siaya. Weeks later she was told to remove it.
• The case was debated in Parliament, and Basic Education PS Julius Bitok ordered her readmission.
• The High Court certified a petition on the matter as urgent.
• Similar complaints emerged from a Mombasa primary school and a Kitui secondary school.

The case for compulsion

Supporters argue mission schools are not truly private. Many sit on public land, receive government funding, employ Teachers Service Commission staff and admit pupils through national placement.

Under senior school placement, parents have limited or no option to transfer.

Families add that the hijab is an act of worship, so a ban effectively denies education unless a girl abandons her faith.

Duale's position is simple: "A Muslim girl can wear a hijab and go to school."

The case against

Sponsors argue that enrolling in a faith-based school implies accepting its ethos, including dress codes.

They also rely on the Supreme Court's finding that schools set their own rules.

Reports of the 2019 majority add that a religious exemption could amount to discrimination against other students. The lone dissent held that varying the uniform does not upset the balance in a multi-faith school.

The numbers shape the politics. About 10 per cent of Kenyans are Muslim and 84 per cent Christian.

A middle path

The 2019 ruling did not order schools to remove hijabs. One writer noted that girls can wear a hijab in the colour of the school uniform.

That could reconcile uniformity with faith, but only if schools accept it voluntarily or a binding rule requires it.

The way forward

Duale's call is a political appeal, not a legal order. Under the 2019 ruling, schools keep discretion over dress codes. Only three things can change that:

• Ministry of Education guidelines.
• A High Court ruling on the merits.
• An amendment to the law.

Until one of them comes, hijab disputes will be settled school by school. Each time, the child pays the price.

Related stories:

• JURIST: Kenya Supreme Court rules school dress codes can exclude hijab
• Africanews: Kenya apex court reverses 'right to hijab'
• Amnesty Kenya: Ramifications of hijab ruling
• Citizen Digital: Blow for Muslim students
• Nation: Schools have final say on uniform
• The Standard: Why won't schools just let girls wear the hijab?
• Al Jazeera: Kenya court overturns ruling on wearing hijab
• The Star: What the law says on school uniform
• Capital FM: Duale condemns school
• Citizen Digital: PS Bitok orders return of Lwak student
• Religion Unplugged: Hijab disputes expose legal gap