Stage is set for giant teachers’ union annual conference

By KARANJA NJOROGE

Nakuru, Kenya: All is set for the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Annual Delegates Conference (ADC) to be held in Nakuru High School, Monday.

A total of 2,050 delegates expected to participate in the election of national officials, including national chairman and secretary general, started arriving in Nakuru town on Saturday.

The venue of the union’s 56th ADC,  Nakuru High School Multi-purpose  Hall, was a  beehive of activity yesterday as organisers put the finishing touches ahead of the meeting.

With acting Secretary General Mudzo Nzili having agreed to switch positions with Chairman Wilson Sossion, the meeting will take place without fireworks earlier expected.

“We do not expect much in the national chairman and secretary general positions because on November 7, the National Executive Council (Nec) met and agreed that Nzili should become the chairman while Sossion should be the union’s new secretary general,” Nakuru Knut Executive Secretary Njau Kuria said yesterday.

Mr Kuria said the meeting’s first agenda would be filling of seven vacant positions before the delegates move on to other resolutions touching on teachers’ welfare.

Yesterday, Sossion and Nzili led members of Nec in a meeting at a Nakuru hotel to lay the ground  for the conference.

The  conference is also expected to  fill in other slots including  the deputy secretary  general position, which has attracted two candidates from Nyanza. The two are Clement Omolo from Siaya and Charles Katege from Migori.

The assistant secretary general position, which has been reserved for Nairobi,  also has two candidates – John Mbate and  Hesbon  Otieno.

Kuria said the conference would state  the union’s position  on the failure  by the Teachers  Service  Commission  to  promote  teachers (TSC).

“We do not understand why TSC has suspended the promotion of  teachers. The  Government  should expect fireworks in January over the  issue,” Kuria  said.