Court shock for top Knut strike leaders

By Lucianne Limo and Vitalis Kimutai

Nairobi, Kenya: The full weight of the Government’s onslaught against the Kenya National Union of Teachers hit home Monday when its officials received hefty fines.

The Sh500,000 fine each on Knut’s Chairman Mr Wilson Sossion and acting Secretary General Mr Mudzo Nzili was the culmination of a sustained offensive by the Government to whittle down the power of the giant union which has a majority of teachers on its roll of members.

Knut was fined Sh5 million to be paid to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), which had filed the case. And as the drama at the Milimani law courts unfolded after Lady Justice Linet Ndolo’s ruling that the two officials were in contempt, Sossion and Nzili suffered further humiliation when they were handcuffed and led to  cells to await payment of their fines.

It also emerged that the Government secretly filmed a meeting between Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko and Nzili at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.

The video, which Sonko later uploaded to his Facebook page, reveals how the Knut officials were worried about being thrown in jail after TSC filed the contempt of court case against them.

“I realised that the Jubilee people wanted to trap me when Sonko called me to go and meet him at the hotel but I have nothing to fear because I did nothing wrong,” Nzili told The Standard.

Big problem

In the video, Nzili is heard asking Sonko to assist them because they were facing a big problem in the courts. Monday, Nzili said he knew Sonko when he served as Board of Governors chairman at Kwale High School, before moving into trade union politics.

“I never asked for any favours apart from telling him about the court case, and even today he called me to ask if I needed any assistance when I was at the basement waiting for the fine to be paid, and I told him I did not require any help,” said Nzili.

Justice Ndolo ruled that Sossion and Nzili were aware of court order and refused to call off the strike.

The two accused persons exchanged glances with reporters as they awaited judgement occasionally raising their hands while smiling and posing for pictures.

Knut leaders have in the past engaged previous governments and TSC in long drawn out disputes and public spats, but never before had they been charged and convicted by a court of law.

“The Teachers Service Commission will not stop teachers from demanding for their rights and we will now push for the full implementation of Legal Notice No 534 so that teachers can get their commuter, house and medical allowances in full,” said Nzili.

He was addressing a press conference in the company of Sossion and other officials at their offices, upon their release after paying their fines.

Sossion had earlier made a phone call from the basement of the Milimani law courts where he promised a weighty statement.

And Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary general Mr Francis Atwoli, Monday evening condemned the heavy fines imposed by the Industrial Court on Knut and its officials, saying they should be discouraged.

“Industrial courts are supposed to be arbitration courts, and just like the family courts, they should not be seen to be criminalising workers’ strikes,” Atwoli warned. He said that the International Labour Organisation, to which Cotu is affiliated, does not support the heavy fines.

Millions of shillings

“Much as I sympathise with my brothers in Knut for having not engaged the employer in time as directed by the courts, it is wrong for courts to impose fines running into millions,” Atwoli stated.

He said teachers had the right to go on strike and press their employer to improve terms and conditions of service as is provided in law and the Constitution. He added that there was need for courts not to be seen to be criminalising industrial disputes.

Speaking at the Knut press conference, Sossion said the government would not subdue them with intimidation or threats.

“We will still use strikes to compel the government to pay what belong to teachers if the Government does not implement the promises. For those who thought that we are now down, they are mistaken, the court case has now reenergised us,” said Sossion.

The officials also assured teachers that their June salaries would be in their accounts from today.

They accused the Jubilee Government of using their archrival, the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) to sign inferior deals and divide teachers.

But Kuppet secretary general Akello Misori said: “This is a dark day for teachers in this country because as trade unions we over-exposed ourselves to the courts and our underbelly has been hard-hit.”