Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Commissioner Wilson Sossion and Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Collins Oyuu have held a meeting at the commission’s headquarters, marking a notable encounter between two leaders who were at the centre of a bitter succession battle earlier this year.
Sossion hosted Oyuu at his office on Wednesday, with the two discussing teacher welfare, professional development and the need for stronger collaboration between the teachers’ employer and the union.
The meeting comes months after the two were locked in a high-stakes contest over the KNUT secretary-general position, with Sossion seeking to return to the union he led for nearly eight years.
Sossion, who served as KNUT secretary-general from December 2013 until his resignation in June 2021, announced his intention to challenge Oyuu ahead of the union’s April 2026 elections.
The move immediately triggered a dispute over his eligibility, with Oyuu maintaining that Sossion was no longer a KNUT member and therefore could not contest.
Oyuu insisted that the union’s constitution and the law had to be followed in determining who was eligible to contest, while Sossion maintained that he remained a fully paid-up member and that his long history in KNUT, coupled with payment of outstanding dues, entitled him to seek the position.
The dispute escalated into the courts. Sossion sought orders to stop the KNUT elections and prevent the union from excluding him from the contest.
On April 1, the Employment and Labour Relations Court declined to halt the elections, paving the way for the union to proceed with its planned polls.
The elections were subsequently held in Kisumu, where Oyuu was re-elected secretary-general unopposed after Sossion was excluded from the race.
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The legal battle did not end with the elections. In September, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that payment of Sh72,000 in union dues had not automatically restored Sossion’s KNUT membership and did not give him an absolute right to contest for the secretary-general position.
The court held that eligibility had to be considered alongside the KNUT constitution and the Labour Relations Act.
Sossion’s return to the TSC has since changed the dynamics between the two leaders. After years of occupying opposite sides of the employer-union divide, Sossion was nominated and subsequently approved as a TSC commissioner in August. His new role places him within the institution that KNUT regularly engages on matters affecting teachers.
His meeting with Oyuu therefore carries significance beyond a routine courtesy call. During Wednesday’s meeting, Sossion appreciated Oyuu for visiting his office and signing the visitors’ book.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue, collaboration and partnership in advancing the interests of teachers and strengthening the teaching service.
The encounter highlights the changing relationship between the former union boss and his successor, who only months ago were on opposing sides of one of the most closely watched leadership contests in the teachers’ union.
Oyuu took over from Sossion in June 2021 after the latter resigned as secretary-general. He was elected unopposed at the time and became the union’s seventh secretary-general.
The two have now found themselves on the same side of the table, with Sossion serving as a TSC commissioner and Oyuu continuing to lead the union representing teachers.
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Their latest engagement could provide a new platform for dialogue on long-running issues affecting teachers, including welfare, professional development, career progression and relations between TSC and KNUT.
For two leaders whose relationship was defined by a fierce contest for control of KNUT earlier this year, Wednesday’s meeting offered a markedly different picture of dialogue between the employer and the union’s leadership.
By Kithinji Njeru
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