A Member of the County Assembly (MCA) in Trans Nzoia is on the spot for allegedly mobilizing a gang of hooligans to storm a secondary school in Kwanza constituency on a heinous mission of flushing out the principal.
Kapomboi Ward MCA, Kefa Were, who masquerades as a human rights activist is said to have single-handedly assembled and paid the hooligans then intoxicated them with alcohol before marching to St. Peter’s Secondary School Kapomboi in search of the principal, Charles Omega.
Were who is expected to conduct himself with dignity as per the leadership integrity requirement, is reported to have chosen the chaotic route with a mission to establish how the school had utilized Ksh 50, 000 disbursed through the Trans Nzoia County Elimu bursary fund.
The gang which was wielding crude weapons while baying for the blood of Omega, resorted to ransack his office where they made away with crucial school documents after they learnt that he was away on official duties.
The barbaric move shocked education stakeholders in the region with the secretary of the Kenya Union of Post-Secondary Teachers (KUPPET) Furaha Lusweti who is also the MCA of Waitaluk Ward condemning his colleague for perpetuating violence against teachers.
“Hon. Were, this was a heinous act happening in your ward under your guidance. I always imagined you are above this act of violence against an innocent teacher. Honestly supposed those hired goons found the principal, they could have killed him.
“Do we resolve issues in schools in this primitive way? I felt ashamed as your colleague in the assembly when I saw you dressed officially but what came out of your mouth was totally unbecoming. Do we become heroes when we demean and treat our teachers in this manner” read a WhatsApp message send by Mr. Lusweti to Mr. Were.
KUPPET officials in the county have called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives to swing into action by instituting charges against the MCA for defying his oath of office with regard to integrity.
KUPPET Chairman, Eliud Wafula, said the union will soon mobilise its members in Kwanza Sub County to lead an exercise of collecting signatures among the electorate of Kapomboi Ward to invoke the recall clause for the removal of the MCA.
“We will also hold peaceful demonstrations in major centres of the Ward if government investigative agencies will let the MCA off the hook since this will amount to justifying violence against teachers,” the chairman spoke in Kitale.
The chairman went ahead to say they will safeguard the interests of teachers saying when the life of one of their own is threatened it is a clear indication that all of them are targeted.
“This is a primitive way that is unbecoming from an elected leader. All teachers do not come from the community around the school and if hired community goons can be allowed to settle scores with teachers then you will never be safe in those small hired rooms on the market or unsecured school compounds or classrooms or staffrooms. We must stop this nonsense once and restore the dignity of a teacher,” said Mr. Wafula
The Trans Nzoia police commander Nelson Taliti conformed the incident saying a team of detectives based in Kwanza Sub County have launched investigations into the matter upon which culprit will face the full force of the law.
The county Education Officer, Pamela Okelo, was not reachable for comment as she was away for official duties.
The MCA however remained adamant that the teacher must be transferred from the area due to an alleged embezzlement of fund suspicion.
By John Oroni
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