A troubling situation is unfolding at Nairobi Academy, extending beyond the Prep School to encompass the entire institution, from Pre-Prep to Secondary.
There is a systematic removal of teachers, not due to any failures in their roles or violations of conduct, but because they no longer conform to a culture marked by fear, control, and unchecked egos. As this trend continues, the lack of response from many parents is beginning to appear less like confusion and more like a reluctance to confront the issue.
This was once a school with a name that carried weight, a place where parents proudly enrolled their children, knowing they’d be taught by skilled, committed professionals, in classrooms that were full, steady, and led by people who actually stayed for more than a term or two, but now things have deteriorated so badly that in some classes you’ll find only eight students, the total enrollment has dropped from around 270 to barely 130, and those who once considered this a solid institution are quietly pulling out or keeping their heads down while the place falls apart.
The official explanation from management that teachers are leaving voluntarily is not just misleading, it is insulting, because inside those staff rooms, teachers are being pushed out, one by one, through calculated pressure, sudden dismissals, and humiliations designed to break them down, with no concern for due process, no space for protest, and no effort to hide the fact that this is a purge, not a coincidence.
Emails are no longer about coordination or communication, they’ve become tools for intimidation, used to threaten teachers into silence, and when that doesn’t work, public staff meetings are turned into staged shows of power, where those who’ve fallen out of favor are embarrassed in front of their peers, micromanaged to the point of paralysis, and eventually forced to walk out with their heads down and no one willing to speak on their behalf.
The result is a workplace where no one feels safe, where each morning is a gamble, where every staff member knows they might be next, and where the people driving this destruction remain firmly in place, untouched by oversight, emboldened by a structure that rewards loyalty and fear over results and stability, even as students and parents begin to feel the cost.
On top of all this pressure, teachers are being forced to remain on campus well into the late afternoon, regularly required to stay until nearly 5 p.m., even though Kindergarten and Prep students are dismissed as early as 3 p.m., and this extra time is not used for planning, collaboration, or professional development, but simply for surveillance and punishment, with no meaningful work assigned, creating a toxic situation where teachers are kept in school like prisoners, not professionals, adding to the exhaustion, burnout, and resentment that already defines the work environment, and according to parents and anonymous staff who spoke to Kenya Today, this rigid extension of hours has become one of the major unspoken reasons teachers dread coming to work.
Mrs. Doreen Maina, who previously ran the Prep School and came from Aga Khan School, brought with her a style of leadership so hostile and dismissive that even at her last job she was reportedly removed for mistreating staff, and instead of learning from that experience, she replicated the same behavior at Nairobi Academy, targeting good teachers, enforcing blind obedience, and turning micromanagement into the school’s default culture.
Her deputy, a science teacher with a reputation among staff for coldness and control, has only deepened the fear, as she reportedly spends more time gathering behind-the-scenes gossip and using it to manipulate situations than actually building any meaningful relationship with those she’s supposed to lead, and while parents receive warm smiles and polite conversation, teachers say they’re met with a brick wall of intimidation, paranoia, and surveillance.
Then came the letter dated 20th December 2024, a document that was supposed to bring change, accountability, and leadership reform, but instead handed even more power to Mr. John Karanja, a man already feared and resented within the school for running it like a personal club, where decisions are made in private, power is distributed based on friendship, and anyone outside the inner circle is dispensable, and from that moment, things didn’t get better, they got worse.
Now Karanja controls everything, Pre-Prep, Prep, Secondary, logistics, recruitment, HR, school trips, and because the acting accountant who informally filled the HR role has been absent since January, he’s doing it all without checks, without oversight, and without any real accountability, and sources say some of the school trips are quietly routed through his private businesses, meaning he profits while the school suffers and teachers remain trapped in a system they can’t question without risking their jobs.
He’s brought in relatives who are now on payroll despite having no experience in the British curriculum, with some earning over KES 120,000 a month while qualified, dedicated teachers are pushed out or left unpaid for weeks, and this blatant nepotism is so visible that staff no longer even whisper about it, they just endure, because complaining only makes things worse.
One protected name inside that mess is Ms. Priscah, a Prep School teacher with multiple complaints from students and parents about mistreatment, who remains untouched and untouchable, reportedly because she’s protected both by Karanja and the school owner Mr. F. Kirugu, and to make matters worse, her own children have also been given jobs at the school, turning it into a family operation with no regard for performance, justice, or professionalism.
What’s even more disturbing is Karanja’s own history, which includes a reported scandal at Mpesa Academy where he was dismissed over an alleged affair with a junior staff member’s wife, a situation so serious that it reportedly led to his own divorce, and yet, somehow, despite that background, he now walks around Nairobi Academy with full control, bragging about his wealth, mocking young teachers, and treating the institution like a private business.
Meanwhile, the school’s infrastructure tells its own story, leaking roofs, poor drainage, crumbling classrooms, and yet, there always seems to be enough money for private drinks, closed-door parties, and quiet handouts for those who stay loyal, while the students get less, and the teachers get nothing but stress, fear, and the constant threat of termination.
And still, what makes all of this even worse is the behavior of the parents, who despite seeing what’s happening, despite experiencing the endless change in staff, the inconsistent classes, and the dropping performance, have mostly stayed quiet, or quietly moved their children elsewhere, or pretended not to notice, as if silence is an acceptable response to this kind of dysfunction.
Let’s be clear, because this matters, teachers can’t speak up, they’ve seen what happens to anyone who tries, they know that one wrong word in the wrong conversation could cost them their job, their housing, and in some cases their careers, because at Nairobi Academy, fear is part of the system.
Students can’t fix this either, they’re caught in the middle of a war they didn’t start, trying to learn in classrooms where teachers disappear mid-term and no one explains why, and even the most brilliant kids are affected when there’s no stability and no continuity in the people guiding them.
That leaves the parents, the only group with the power, the voice, and the leverage to force change, and instead of using that power, most of them have chosen to stay silent, to stay comfortable, to stay complicit in the slow collapse of a school they once believed in, and by doing nothing, they’ve helped this mess grow.
So now, Nairobi Academy continues to bleed out, good teachers are fired, bad ones are protected, infrastructure falls apart, the student experience deteriorates, and fear becomes the school’s unofficial mission statement, while the few staff members left who care are barely hanging on, wondering if tomorrow will be their last.
If this doesn’t change, if parents don’t speak up, if the owner continues to protect those doing the damage, then Nairobi Academy won’t just fade into irrelevance, it will become a loud, public example of how fast a school can crumble when nobody has the guts to say enough is enough.
Kenya Today urges any parent, teacher, student, or former staff member who has witnessed these events firsthand, or who has information that could shed further light on what is happening inside Nairobi Academy, to reach out to us directly and confidently, as we are committed to exposing the truth fully, documenting every story responsibly, and ensuring that the people causing harm to this institution are no longer protected by silence, fear, or empty PR statements.
