Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General (SG) Collins Oyuu has issued a stern warning to individuals he described as non-members seeking to contest in the union’s upcoming national elections, saying the law and the union’s constitution offer no room for such candidates.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, March 18, Oyuu invoked Part IV of the Labour Relations Act, revised in 2022, as well as the KNUT constitution, to argue that only bona fide, card-carrying members of the union are eligible to vie for any leadership position.
“The law is very clear. You will find that there is no place for someone who is not a member here,” Oyuu said. “Don’t talk to me about non-members of KNUT. I don’t even want to hear about them.”
His remarks are widely interpreted as directed at former KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion, who has signalled his intention to return to the helm of the union during elections scheduled for April 3 at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.
Oyuu was equally dismissive of anyone who, in his view, had abandoned the teaching profession in pursuit of politics or business and now sought to reclaim a place in union leadership.
“Where you step out going to politics, going to your business outside there, and you come back, you won’t be a candidate. Where? Even if you want power, there is no power here,” he said.
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Sossion resigned as KNUT Secretary General on June 25, 2021, citing his desire to pursue political ambitions after an eight-year tenure in the role. He subsequently vied for the Bomet senatorial seat in the 2022 General Election but lost. He was later appointed a Cabinet Administrative Secretary (CAS) for Tourism, though a High Court ruling nullified the appointment on grounds that the CAS positions had been created unconstitutionally.
His path back to the union has been complicated by his deregistration from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) roll in 2019, a process that began after he was nominated to the National Assembly by ODM in 2017. However, the Court of Appeal recently ruled that the TSC erred in terminating his employment as a teacher in 2018, clearing a key legal hurdle in his bid to contest.
Sossion has argued that the ruling, combined with his paid-up union dues through June 2026, makes him fully eligible to contest.
“I have written to Secretary General Collins Oyuu notifying him of my candidature, and my union dues are fully paid,” Sossion stated. “In fact, I am among the most loyal members of KNUT. I have not only paid dues up to June 2026 but have also settled supplementary contributions.”
Oyuu, however, remained unmoved. He insisted that the union would not be reduced to what he called an open ground for anyone nursing leadership ambitions.
“KNUT is not a duster rug,” he told journalists. “We shall control this union. To be respected and liked by all and sundry. We are here for you, for the union. Non-members should talk from outside the fence.”
Part IV of the Labour Relations Act, last revised in 2022, governs officials and members of trade unions, covering provisions on elections of officials, voting membership and membership requirements. Under the Act, a voting member of a trade union must be employed in the sector for which the union is registered, and their subscriptions must not be more than 13 weeks in arrears.
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The KNUT national elections are scheduled to be held between April 1 and June 30, 2026, as directed by the Acting Registrar of Trade Unions, with successful candidates serving a five-year term from 2026 to 2031. The union has about 170,000 members spread across 110 branches. Branch elections, which concluded in early March, produced the delegate pool that will participate in the national vote.
Oyuu was elected KNUT Secretary General on June 26, 2021, a day after Sossion’s resignation, having served in the role since December 2013. He is defending his seat in the upcoming polls.
By Benedict Aoya
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