Teachers protest nullification of Dida’s appointment

By PETER OCHIENG

ELDORET, KENYA: Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) protested the revocation of former presidential contender Mohammed Abduba Dida's appointment as the chairman of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Board.

Its North Rift union officials said they were upset by the President's bold move to appoint Dida only for him to change his mind.

Led by Philip Chesire, the union's North Rift region Organizing Secretary, the teachers said that Dida was suitable and qualified for the new position owing to his experience as a public officer and innate passion to uplift the lives of ordinary Kenyans.

The officials vowed to mobilize their members to stage a peaceful demonstration in Eldoret against a section of the MPs they accused of allegedly pushing the government to revoke Dida's appointment as the head of CDF board.

“We as teachers are actually not happy with the move taken by the government to revoke the appointment of the former presidential candidate as indicated today (yesterday). Dida is suitable and qualified for that position and we wonder why the President changed his mind.He should give reasons,” Chesire said.

The unionists said Dida's critics should have given him a chance to prove his leadership skills instead of criticizing his appointment.

“I know some people are not happy with the appointment because Dida is not a member of the Jubilee alliance but the government cannot be run by those who elected them only,” Chesire said.

Chesire who was in a company of union officials, told journalists Dida's treatment was the same being applied on teachers countrywide whose general welfare has been neglected and ignored by those in power.

The unionists were reacting to calls by ODM MPs led by Rarieda legislator Nicholas Gumbo to the Head of State to revoke Dida's appointment.  

Gumbo asked the President to revoke the appointment which he termed as illegal.

His Suba counterpart John Mbadi said that it was unfair to remove a woman as head of CDF board and replace her with a man saying the move was bound to upset the gender representation of the board.

“It is unfair for the government to fire a woman and replace her with a man. We don’t have any problem with Dida but changes should be done fairly to avoid further complains from members of the public,” he said recently.