Embattled Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Vice National Treasurer Ronald Tonui has expressed optimism following ongoing branch elections, saying early results point to a strong rejection of officials aligned with Secretary General Akello Misori and his team.
Speaking during the electoral process, Tonui said teachers across the country have “done their part” by electing branch officials who genuinely support the teachers’ agenda. He noted that the branch outcomes so far reflect the will of union members determined to reform the leadership of KUPPET.
According to Tonui, out of the 21 branches that have so far conducted elections, the pro-teachers team has won in 13 branches, while the pro-Akello team has won in only three branches, with five branches producing mixed results. He added that 26 branches are yet to vote.
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He said the results clearly show that the majority of teachers are voting for candidates representing their interests.
“If this trend continues, we are nearly sure we are going to clean the national office of KUPPET and install leaders with passion and commitment to serve teachers. Teachers are doing their best to ensure we have the right people in the national office,” Tonui said.
The former Bomet Central MP further claimed that large sums of money had been poured into several branches by external forces in an attempt to influence elections in favour of the Akello-led faction. However, he said teachers had rejected such efforts.
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“The teachers are chewing the money and voting otherwise, and that is the right direction to go,” he stated, urging members to reject leaders who do not have teachers’ interests at heart and instead elect vibrant, principled officials.
He expressed confidence that KUPPET could emerge as the strongest union in the country, capable of effectively articulating and defending the interests of its members. The ex-MP compared his vision for the union to powerful teachers’ unions in South Africa.
Tonui called on branches that are yet to conduct elections to ensure they elect officials who will fight for teachers’ rights. He openly urged teachers to reject candidates aligned with the Akello camp.
“If there are Akello pro-team candidates, you should reject them and vote otherwise,” he said.
Tonui also questioned the legitimacy of the current composition of KUPPET’s national office, arguing that several officials are no longer legally qualified to hold office. He claimed that two members of the national office are Members of Parliament who failed to resign from union leadership positions despite the enactment of the Conflict of Interest Act, which he said disqualifies them from continuing to serve in the union and participate in the elections.
Additionally, he alleged that at least five other officials have retired and therefore ceased to be employees, making them ineligible for union membership under the Labour Relations Act. He cited Section 2 of the Labour Relations Act, which defines unionisable employees as eligible members of a trade union, a trade union as an association of employees, and an employee as a person earning a salary or wage.
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He argued that individuals who are no longer earning salaries or wages do not qualify to contest or hold office in the union.
“By virtue of not resigning or no longer being employees, they do not qualify to contest or hold office in the union,” Tonui argued.
Tonui accused his former colleagues at the national office of introducing what he termed “pro-rator constitutions” without consulting members. He claimed these changes were intended to create room for handpicked delegates who would support the incumbent leadership during national elections.
He said the strategy has since backfired, describing it as “a nightmare” for those who engineered it.
The embattled vice treasurer called on all branches to convene Branch General Assemblies to elect delegates who will participate in the national elections, warning against handpicking of delegates. He cited Article 8 of the union constitution, which mandates that branch general assemblies elect delegates to vote for national officials.
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“These are serious positions because delegates determine the direction the union will take. We cannot take this casually,” he remarked.
“The power to remove the Akello Misori team lies with the people elected at the branch level,” he said, adding that the ongoing branch elections demonstrate that teachers are ready to reclaim their union.
By Our Reporter
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