Scramble for Knut top post threatens to split teachers

By AUGUSTINE ODUOR

KENYA: The quest to elect the sixth secretary general of Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has begun  in earnest, with reports there was a gentleman’s agreement on the union’s succession plan.

The upcoming national election is likely to split the union down the middle, with reports camps are already forming for the top contenders of the position. Knut acting secretary general Mudzo Nzili has declared interest to contest the coveted position during

the December election. Mr Nzili is confident that having risen through the ranks he was best suited to be the union’s boss and vowed to convince the delegates to grant him the opportunity.

He spent the better part of this week in Nyanza, wooing teachers and delegates to support his bid. But the race to fill up the coveted post in the union is seemingly shaping up to a ‘two-horse-race’ with national chairman Wilson Sossion likely to plunge into the contest.

Mr Sossion denied claims of plans to challenge Nzili but admitted that he was under immense pressure to go for the top job. He said the 2,800 delegates would ‘gather at a specified venue to decide’ who to elect as the union’s boss and noted that for now they (delegates) should be let to work.

Recruitment drive

“Elections will be conducted in December. Teachers are the delegates and for now they have a lot of

work to do in their respective schools. We still have three months and I find it outrageous to speak about succession, so kindly leave me out of that,” he said.

He, however, said many teachers had approached him to re-think his position as national chairman.

I admit that I am under great pressure from teachers and delegates to shift services from the national chair to the secretary general produce a document to these agreements but they are the simple memorandums of understanding on regional balancing.”

He noted that currently, the Rift Valley has the national chairman’s position, Central the first national vice chairman, Western region the second national chairman while Eastern had national treasury of the

union.

“Coast region has the secretary general while Nyanza has deputy secretary general position. This is how things should be and we hope delegates will see it that way,” he said.

He accused some persons in the union of allegedly plotting to send him home. “Once I am defeated it means I will go home. And that also means that I did not do a good job during the just ended nationwide strike,” he said.

Sources within the top leadership of Knut said there was a procedure of replacing the secretary general and his deputy.

“Each Knut elections comes with its own scenario and it is wrong for someone to say that certain positions have been reserved because it is not in the constitution,” said one of the members of the steering committee.

“Any teacher can be a secretary general as long as the delegates have decided so. The first three national chairmen of the union were from Nyanza. This means that there is no procedure other than democratic process by the delegates,” said the senior official who did not want to be seen as leaning to either camp.

Kenya National Union of Teachers national chairman Wilson Sossion is a vocal but smart trade unionists who believes that teachers must get the best always. Born in 1968, Mr Sossion rose through the union ranks to become the national chairman last year, replacing George Wesonga who retired

in 2011. But his journey into union politics started in 2001 when he was elected the national executive secretary of Bomet.

He was later elected to the National Executive Council in a special delegates conference that also saw Mr Francis Nga’nga confirmed the union secretary general after the death of Ambrose Adongo.

In 2007, Sossion was elected the second vice national chairman and in 2009, he rose to the position of the first vice national chairman.

He officially became Knut national chairman two yeas ago during a national delegates vote that also confirmed the late Okuta Osiany as the secretary general.

Today, Sossion has been the voice of authority that has pushed the teachers welfare. During strikes, even in the absence of a secretary general, he kept the union alive rallying all the teachers to boycott classes.Sossion’s humble rise in giant union

“I admit that I am under great pressure from teachers and delegates to shift services from the national

chair to the secretary general of the union,” he said adding: “But I have not given it a serious thought because we have just emerged from a nationwide strike and my in-tray is full.”

Sossion cited the terms and conditions of service for teachers, which he said, should be completed

by October 31. “We are also busy with a nationwide membership recruitment drive and attending annual

general meetings across the country. These are all important activities that require every bit of the chairman’s attention,” he added.

He said the union was also developing a training manual for capacity building for different categories of leaders to be used next year. “These should be approved by the Annual Delegates Conference and

we must move with speed to ensure all is in place,” he said. In an interview with The Standard on Saturday the national chairman also pointed out that top of his priority was promotion of teachers who had undertaken various courses.

“We are trying to see how these teachers can get promotions upon graduation. What is on my desk is

bigger and I need to sort them out first,” he said. But even as the race begins to shape up, Nzili has indicated that he is the right successor of David Okuta Osiany, who died earlier this year.

He said: “What has led this union all through has been simplegentleman’s agreements that have always been honoured. We cannot