Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion, has dared the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), to interdict the more than 2,000 teachers who have boycotted duty in the North Eastern region.
Sossion’s bold stand comes ahead of the expiry of TSC’s directive to teachers deployed in Wajir, Garissa and Mandera counties to resume duty by tomorrow. The standoff comes amid Knut’s hosting of an international one-week education conference in Nairobi sponsored by Education International (EI). The conference brings together representatives of more than 40 million teachers from across the globe. TSC Chief Executive Gabriel Lengoibon had warned the teachers that they would be replaced if they do not return to work by tomorrow. “Threats to sack these teachers will not solve the issues raised. The teachers have very legitimate and life-threatening concerns. They, too, have constitutional rights to be protected,” stated Sossion.
The current boycott is a response to the murder of 28 people headed to Nairobi in November last year, 24 of whom were teachers.
While Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry has assured that security has been improved in the region, teachers have stood their ground, demanding for re-deployment. State security agencies have put Sossion on their radar over the teachers’ continued boycott.
The Knut boss had earlier this week ignored summons by the CID to appear at its headquarters, arguing that he had not be informed of the reason for the summons as is required by law.
Through his lawyer Chacha Odera, Sossion had police should abide by the law that allows them to summon him at a time convenient to both parties. In a letter dated January 30, the CID said it is “investigating a case of incitement to violence and disobedience contrary to section 96 (c) of the penal code.” Sossion yesterday said he would honour the summons, stating that, “I will honour the CID summons because they have invited me procedurally, unlike before when they did so through a text message.”
Parliamentary committee
Sossion is also scheduled to meet the Parliamentary Committee on Administration and National Security on Wednesday.
National Assembly Clerk, Justin Bundi, in a letter dated January 28, invited Knut for a meeting with the committee on February 4.
Sossion has however written to Bundi asking him to reschedule the meeting, since he would be attending the EI conference, which he noted was scheduled to be opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta on the same day.
In the letter, Bundi cited two reasons for the summons; to address reasons for reluctance by teachers to return to their working stations and actions that can be taken to address the issues raised by the teachers.
In his letter to TSC dated January 29, Sossion had accused the commission of failing to involve teachers to mitigate the adverse effects of the stand-off, but instead resorted to issuing threats and ultimatums.
“We attempted to have a discourse on the way forward on January 27, but TSC snubbed us. Our second visit to the commission on January 28 for a meeting was also in vain,” read Sossion’s letter in part.
The Knut boss will also be recording statement at the CID headquarters over the same issue tomorrow.
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