By Wasike Elvis
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) will not succeed in its move to kill Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
Speaking to the press in Eldoret town recently during the Rift valley Regional Council meeting, KNUT Secretary-General Wilson Sossion said the union will not be cowed through any form of intimidation.
“We have been around for over 62 years. We are honest, open, democratic and independent union,” he said.
Sossion said attempts by TSC to do away with a recognition agreement signals that the Commission did not want to engage them.
“The register of KNUT members can only be audited by the Ministry of Labour and the Registrar, not TSC. The work of TSC is to remit union dues,” he said.
He called on the TSC to comply with all the court orders and implement promotion of teachers.
Meanwhile, KNUT Rift Valley officials led by Morris Barchok chairman rallied behind their boss.
“We are the people who fronted Sossion to be elected as one of the national officials, so we are the people to tell others if we have confidence in him or not since our election is based regional balance,” said Barchok.
He said that he is being fought because he refused to accept bribes to compromise teacher’s demands.
“We want to confirm to the rest of our colleagues in Kenya that Wilson Sossion is our choice and we remain loyal and supportive to him whatever the case. Without him there is no KNUT,” he added.
Stephen Kipyego Misoi KNUT executive secretary in Nandi County said they have trust in Sossion’s leadership
“We want to tell those salivating for his post to wait until in 2021,” said Misoi.
He, however, refuted claims that over 90, 000 teachers ditched the union.
These sentiments are coming amidst a simmering row between TSC and the union. The latest in this intifada is the unprecedented withdrawal of staff who had attended the 15Th Annual Delegates Conference of the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (KEPSHA) upon the arrival of KNUT officials to address the teachers.
The Commission even pulled down its tent and asked all officers at the event to forthwith travel back to Nairobi. As a result, the conference ended in abeyance without the traditional participation of the teachers’ employer which usually presides over the award ceremony of the best teachers in the country.
