By Staff Reporter
Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) branch officials have predicted a bleak future for the union as the membership numbers fall sharply.
Reports indicate that total membership currently stands at about 50,000 compared to the more than 180,000 the powerful union boasted in May 2019, a whopping 72 per cent drop.
The number is expected to reduce even further as teachers exit the union in order to enjoy benefits in the Collective Bargaining Agreement which are only enjoyed by non-KNUT members.
With 110 branches countrywide, this means some branches have less than 1,000 members, which goes against the requirements of KNUT’s revised constitution.
The constitution states that each branch shall have at least 1,000 members.
KNUT Borabu Executive Secretary Peter Munde disclosed that his membership had reduced from 700 in June 2019 to less than 100 in October 2020.
“Every month, our membership keeps declining and I do not know if I will be left with any,” he lamented.
Munde, who has since gone into farming to make ends meet, warned that if nothing is done to save the situation, the union will be as good as dead.
He disclosed that despite the union leaders seeking the intervention of influential government officials, they have only ended up with empty promises.
Tharaka Branch Executive Secretary Ndia Watia said his membership had gone down from about 1,300 to less than 7,00.
He, however, expressed optimism that rebuilding the union was still possible.
Watia accused the government of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies and treating the union unfairly.
KNUT Homa Bay Branch Executive Secretary Cornel Ajuok admitted that some branches could be having as low as 50 members.
With declined resources, Ajuok said, a number of officials had gone for months without pay and described the situation as dire.
Ajuok, however, believes that with the change of government and return to normalcy, the union will go back to its glorious days.
KNUT Kakamega South Branch Executive Secretary Archedius Liyayi is optimistic the union enjoys massive goodwill from teachers that will enable it spring back to vibrancy.
“Thousands of teachers still want to join the union,” he said, citing its excellent network.
Even with the declining membership, he said, nothing can be done to change the existing structures such as abolishing the branches.
KNUT Teso Branch Executive Secretary Owaya Adungo acknowledged that the union is facing tough times and called for political intervention.
“The President is aware of what the union is going through and I understand an emissary has briefed him on the same,” Adungo said.
KNUT Samburu Branch Executive Secretary Raphael Leshalote blamed Secretary General Wilson Sossion for the woes the union is facing, saying the sooner he leaves, the better.
“I have served a number of the secretary generals but not a single day did the National Executive Council sit to suspend any of them like we have done with Sossion,” he said.
He attributed the fall in membership to Sossion’s leadership.
“Sossion is a deregistered teacher and the Teachers Service Commission does not recognise him,” he said, warning that with his leadership, the union is headed to oblivion.
Leshalote, who was once a close ally of the Nominated MP, said the Secretary General can no longer represent teachers in negations with the Teachers Service Commission.
