Knut boss Wilson Sossion inciting teachers, North Eastern politicians claim

As nearly 2,000 teachers continue with their protests against resuming duty in parts of northern Kenya, their union boss, Wilson Sossion, has come under heavy criticism from political leaders from the region for allegedly fueling the situation.

The protests mean learning will be affected in those areas for the fourth week this year.

Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale and Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow partly blame the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general for what they term as “discrimination against our poor children”.

“This is a deliberate scheme by Sossion to isolate and punish residents of these areas. If insecurity was truly the issue, then he should have equally demanded the transfer of union members from Baragoi, Kapedo and Mpeketoni when those areas suffered terrorist attacks,” Duale told The Standard on Sunday last Friday.

Assured workers

The teachers who have been working in Mandera and Wajir counties have remained steadfast in their quest to be transferred due to high levels of insecurity attributed to the Al-Shabaab militia. The region borders Somalia.

Last November, gunmen killed 28 people headed to Nairobi from Mandera, 24 of them teachers. The other three were doctors and a policeman.

While Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry has assured workers of security, and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has refused to offer transfers, Knut and the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education teachers (Kuppet) have thrown their weight behind the teachers.

Kerrow insisted that the Knut leader incited the teachers against returning to work, and termed it a mockery of the people of North Eastern region, “because he knows we have no adequate local teachers, courtesy of those who share his mindset”. He suggested that the teachers be sacked if they have not have reported to work by tomorrow.

On Monday, Kerrow led the Senate Security Committee on a tour of Mandera to assess the security, met Governor Ali Roba and had discussions with the locals.

The senators included Senate Security Committee chairman Yusuf Haji (Garissa), Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura (Murang’a), Mike Sonko (Nairobi), James Orengo (Siaya), GG Kariuki (Laikipia) and Fatuma Dullo (nominated).

“There are civil servants working in Mandera. We met 200 private school teachers in the town. TSC-employed teachers are being incited by Sossion,” said Kerrow,

And Duale, who is Garissa Town MP, said: “Teachers have signed contracts with their employer, the TSC, saying they will serve in any part of Kenya, unless of course they are suggesting Garissa, Mandera and Wajir are not part of Kenya.”

“A person who denies our children education is a worse enemy than Al-Shabaab. Our children have suffered enough for hailing from a harsh, hot environment and terror-prone area.”

Duale opined that the Government is unlikely to give in to the teachers’ transfer demands because doing so will set a wrong precedent for other civil servants, including nurses, doctors and police officers working in the region.

When reached for comment, Sossion told off the duo by asking them to stop “sneaking” to TSC offices and instead face the teachers and ask them to go back to their work stations.

“They are detached from realities on the ground because they wallow in luxury in Nairobi, far away from where the suffering teachers work. They did not even fundraise for teachers who were killed last November. I was at Nairobi’s Chiromo Mortuary and I saw the agony their families went through,” said Sossion.

Taken casually

He said Nkaiserry had taken the security question casually, by offering a blanket assurance without inviting union officials for serious consultations.

According to the teachers who spoke to The Standard on Sunday, the militiamen target non-Muslims.

“We have been telling TSC the problems we face, but so far, we have not got a response that guarantees our safety. We cannot rehearse with our lives in the name of teaching,” said Maurice, who has been teaching in Wajir.

The teachers claimed that even if the Government was to provide at least two police officers per school, their security would not be guaranteed because most schools are not fenced, and this number of officers would not stop a terror attack.

The problem, they said, is compounded by the harsh weather conditions and lack of water.

“The extent to which we have suffered in those places is too painful and I would rather quit teaching and be a bar attendant than go back,” said Maurice.

Christabel, a teacher in Mandera County, also claimed that female teachers were denied maternity leave.

“I have been teaching in that region for more than eight years and all the female teachers who got pregnant were interdicted because they went for maternity leave so that they could deliver their babies in hospitals that have adequate equipment.”

The teachers have demanded transfer letters to no avail.

“We have complied with the TSC Code of Conduct and Ethics, which requires that when the life of a teacher is in danger, he or she should leave the area and report to TSC for deployment and transfer which all of us have done,” said one of the teachers who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation.

TSC Secretary Gabriel Lengoiboni has, however, maintained that the teachers should report back to work because security has improved.

Lengoiboni said he had given the teachers two weeks to report back to work, failure to which disciplinary action would be taken against them.

“We expect that by the end of this week, they should be in their respective schools teaching. The governors of those counties and Ministry of Interior have assured us that they will make sure there is enough security,” Lengoiboni told The Standard on Sunday last week.