KUPPET Nakuru Executive Secretary aspirant calls on TSC to address voter clipping, Union democracy

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers, KUPPET Nakuru branch Executive Secretary aspirant Gilbert Mutai has formally written to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Registrar of Trade Unions, and other relevant state organs raising alarm over what he terms a voter clipping scandal, calling for quick address.

He said that the integrity of membership registers has once again emerged as a defining issue in union democracy, a controversy that now threatens to overshadow the forthcoming KUPPET Nakuru Branch elections scheduled for 7 February 2026, following claims of large-scale voter disenfranchisement.

According Mutai, more than 1,000 teachers who were fully registered KUPPET members as of December 2025 were allegedly downgraded to agency fee payers without notice, consent, or due process.

At the centre of the dispute is the implication of this administrative action on the right of teachers to participate in union elections. Under KUPPET regulations, only full members are eligible to vote. The sudden reclassification of a large bloc of teachers therefore has the practical effect of locking them out of the electoral process—an outcome that raises serious governance and ethical questions.

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What has particularly drawn concern is the timing and apparent selectivity of the downgrading. The affected teachers are reportedly concentrated in sub-counties such as Kuresoi North, Kuresoi South,
Njoro, and Rongai—areas that are considered electorally significant in the Nakuru Branch contest.

The proximity of these changes to the election date has fueled suspicion that the exercise may not have been purely administrative, but rather politically motivated.

Mutai’s letter calls for an immediate investigation by the TSC, suspension of any further alterations to union membership status, restoration of affected teachers where compliance is established, and
administrative action against any officers found culpable.

He also urged TSC to formally demand that KUPPET National reject the January 2026 register and instead rely on a December or November 2025 register for voter identification.

Beyond individual candidacies, this dispute speaks to a broader challenge confronting trade unions in Kenya: the credibility of internal democratic processes.

Teacher unions occupy a unique space, interfacing directly with state institutions while purporting to represent members’ collective interests. When membership data becomes contested, the legitimacy of elected leaders—and by extension their negotiating authority—comes into question.

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The reported extension of the downgrading to Junior School (JS) teachers, if substantiated, further complicates the matter. It raises concerns of systemic exclusion at a time when junior school teachers are already grappling with transition-related uncertainties under the Competency-Based Curriculum framework.

The involvement of the TSC, the Registrar of Trade Unions, and the Ministry of Labour underscores the gravity of the allegations. While unions are autonomous entities, state oversight becomes necessary where labour rights, due process, and constitutional freedoms, particularly freedom of association, appear threatened.

How these institutions respond will likely set an important precedent on whether administrative mechanisms can be weaponized to influence union elections, or whether safeguards exist to prevent such outcomes.

The Nakuru voter clipping claims present a test case for union democracy in Kenya’s education sector. Transparency in membership management, predictability in administrative decisions, and respect for teachers’ political rights within unions are not optional ideals—they are foundational principles.

As the elections approach, stakeholders will be watching closely to see whether corrective action is taken, and whether the final outcome reflects the genuine will of the membership. The credibility of KUPPET Nakuru Branch, and confidence in institutional oversight, may well depend on it.

By Wesley Chelule