- Wilson Sossion and Antonina Lentoijoni were sworn in as TSC commissioners on Thursday.
- Their swearing-in concludes a recruitment process that began with two vacancies earlier this year.
- The process involved applications, interviews, presidential nomination, court proceedings, parliamentary vetting and formal appointment.
Former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion and long-serving Teachers Service Commission (TSC) official Antonina Lentoijoni have formally taken office as commissioners following their swearing-in on Thursday, September 10, 2026.
The two took their oaths of office in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome, completing a months-long recruitment and approval process to fill two vacancies in the constitutional commission.
Their assumption of office comes nine days after President William Ruto formally appointed them through a special Kenya Gazette notice dated August 31, 2026.
Under Gazette Notice No. 14000, President Ruto appointed Sossion and Lentoijoni as members of the TSC for six-year terms in exercise of powers under Article 250(2) of the Constitution, read together with Section 8(10) of the Teachers Service Commission Act.
The process to recruit the two commissioners dates back to the first half of 2026, when vacancies arose following the expiry of the six-year, non-renewable terms of commissioners Mbage Njuguna Ng’ang’a and Leila Abdi Ali on May 2.
The government subsequently initiated recruitment to fill the two positions.
An advertisement published on April 28 invited qualified Kenyans to apply for appointment as two members of the Teachers Service Commission. Applicants were required to submit their applications by 5pm on Monday, May 11, 2026.
The advertised positions were full-time and carried a non-renewable six-year term. Shortlisted candidates were also required to obtain clearance from agencies including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kenya Revenue Authority, Higher Education Loans Board, Directorate of Criminal Investigations and a credit reference bureau.
A selection panel chaired by Ambassador Isaac Njenga subsequently shortlisted candidates for interviews.
Sossion and Lentoijoni were among 33 candidates shortlisted for the two positions, with interviews conducted between June 2 and June 5, 2026.
The selection exercise culminated in submission of names to the President for consideration.
Ruto nominates Sossion, Lentoijoni
On July 21, President Ruto nominated Sossion and Lentoijoni for appointment as TSC commissioners.
The nominations were announced through Presidential Notification of Action No. XI of 2026 and transmitted to the National Assembly for consideration in accordance with the Constitution and relevant statutes.
The development marked a major return to the centre of teacher management for Sossion, who previously served as KNUT secretary-general and as a nominated Member of Parliament.
For Lentoijoni, the nomination represented a progression from within the TSC secretariat, where she had risen through the ranks to serve as Director of Staffing after a career spanning more than two decades in education administration.
However, the approval process soon encountered a legal hurdle.
On July 30, the High Court in Kerugoya issued conservatory orders temporarily stopping the vetting and approval of the two nominees following a constitutional petition filed by Kelvin Wafula.
Justice Joyce Gandani restrained further action on the nominations for 21 days pending the hearing of the matter.
The court orders were subsequently lifted, clearing the way for Parliament to proceed with the approval hearings.
Nominees face Parliament
Sossion and Lentoijoni eventually appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education on August 20.
During the hearings, MPs questioned them on teacher promotions, welfare, staffing shortages, management of teachers’ records and the relationship between the TSC and the Ministry of Education.
Sossion told the committee that his experience in trade unionism would strengthen rather than compromise the Commission, while pledging to concentrate on the TSC’s mandate if appointed.
The committee, chaired by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, later approved the two nominees and adopted its report on August 25, paving the way for consideration by the full House.
Parliament subsequently approved their appointments, completing the legislative stage of the process.
President Ruto then formally appointed them through the August 31 special Gazette notice, giving each a six-year term at the Commission.
Thursday’s swearing-in on September 10 now completes the journey from advertisement and competitive interviews to presidential nomination, court proceedings, parliamentary approval, gazettement and assumption of office.
The two join the TSC at a time when the Commission is dealing with teacher recruitment and deployment, promotions, staffing shortages, implementation of Competency-Based Education and preparations for the transition to senior school.
READ ALSO: Yatta teachers fear arrest after DCI summons colleagues who protested against KNUT officials
TSC is constitutionally mandated to register trained teachers, recruit and employ teachers, assign them to public schools, promote and transfer them, exercise disciplinary control and terminate their employment.
By Joseph Mambili
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