TSC sounds alarm as teacher killings escalate in Garissa

Teachers Service Commission Ag CEO Eveleen Mitei before the National Assembly's Education Committee on teachers welfare on June 19, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has raised concerns over the safety and security of teachers working in arid and semi-arid regions following a string of deadly attacks that continue to disrupt learning and force educators to flee.

The alarm comes after Stephen Vundi Musili of Hulugho Primary School in Garissa was dragged from his house and shot dead by suspected Al-Shabaab militants on Monday.

 A location chief was also killed in the same attack.

TSC Chairperson Jamleck Muturi announced the government has activated a multi-agency security framework to address growing threats facing teachers posted to high-risk zones.

"The issue of the security and safety of teachers across the country is now being handled within the framework of a multi-agency team comprising key government institutions, including the security agencies," noted Muturi.

"This is in keeping with the whole-of-government approach aimed at safeguarding the security of our teachers with a view to facilitating teaching and learning in our schools," he added.

Muturi appealed to host communities, religious leaders and the wider society to stand with teachers serving in remote and volatile regions.

He said TSC had deployed senior officers to Garissa County to engage affected teachers and assess the situation on the ground.

Musili had served for barely a year but was described by colleagues as a dedicated and courageous teacher committed to educating learners in a difficult environment.

TSC Chief Executive Officer Eveleen Mitei condemned the killing as a direct assault on the right to education and national peace.

"The commission condemns this heinous and cowardly act, which has not only robbed a young teacher of his dear life but also undermines the right to education, peace and security for teachers and learners alike," said Mitei.

She added that the commission would provide all necessary support to affected teachers and their families, insisting that staff safety remains a top priority.

The insecurity follows months of violence in Garissa.

In October 2025, Hillary Ochieng Minudi, a lecturer at Garissa Teachers Training College, was stabbed to death by suspected gang members, sparking protests by educators.

Then Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told Parliament in 2023 that 36 teachers had been killed and eight injured in ASAL areas over the previous decade, largely linked to Al-Shabaab attacks.

Since 2012, teachers have been targeted in schools, police camps and while travelling, including a 2014 terror attack in Mandera that killed 18 teachers.

Kindiki urged TSC to consider flying non-local teachers to and from Mandera and other high-risk counties, citing the dangers of road travel.

He also proposed shorter service periods for non-local teachers and relocating them during heightened security threats to protect their mental health and lives.

The attacks have triggered a mass exodus of teachers, leading to school closures and declining enrolment.

"When the teachers leave, the students go back to their nomadic lifestyle," said Ahmed Abdi Mohamed, headteacher of Balambala Boarding School in Garissa County.