Schools in Kerio Valley are facing imminent closure after teachers’ unions in Elgeyo Marakwet ordered their members to withdraw services following a spate of banditry attacks.
In a joint statement, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and their counterparts, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), said schools in the region will remain closed until a substantive solution to insecurity is achieved.
Speaking to the media a day after a local priest, Allois Bett of St. Matthias Mulumba Tot Parish, was killed in cold blood by gun-wielding bandits, KNUT Marakwet Secretary John Cheberi said the situation has escalated, posing threats to tutors and learners in the region.
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Cheberi declared that no teacher will report to school until their safety is guaranteed, saying the government should move with speed and disarm individuals causing havoc, raising concerns of non-local teachers in what he termed as the new wave of bandits targeting non-local personnel.
“The situation in Kerio Valley is inhabitable. We order our members not to report to school until bandits are disarmed. Teachers are now living in fear as a new trend of targeting non-locals has been witnessed. We therefore ask our teachers to leave the area immediately for their safety,” declared Cheberi.
Cheberi further said the education sector has borne the brunt of the attacks, affirming that it won’t be business as usual when innocent lives are lost in the hands of bandits.
County KUPPET Secretary Paul Biwott echoed these sentiments, saying insecurity in the area has left teachers and students exposed since they are a soft target.
Biwott said the decision to withdraw services by the unions was arrived at after assessing the situation, which he says has caused fears and concern among educators and learners, terming the group a soft target since they are unarmed.
He remarked, “We are calling on the government to stop this immediately. Our teachers and students are at high risk from these heinous attacks. Let our teachers stay out of class until those in power take action”.
The unionists condemned the killing of the priest.
By Philemon Kiprop
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