The leadership wrangles at the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) are getting more intense, after Secretary General Collins Oyuu strongly opposed attempts by his predecessor Wilson Sossion to return to office.
Speaking on Friday, Oyuu made it clear that the union will strictly follow its rules ahead of the upcoming elections, and no one would be treated as a special case, regardless of their status in the union.
“There is no confusion in KNUT leadership. This is not a place where anyone can just wake up and decide to contest,” Oyuu said, emphasizing that all contestants would have to adhere to the constitution of the union as well as the law.
This statement by Oyuu may be viewed as a direct attack on his predecessor, Wilson Sossion, who has already expressed interest in vying for the position of Secretary General in the impending elections slated for early April.
Oyuu asked a number of questions regarding his predecessor’s intention of returning to office, including where he has been and whether he qualifies to be a part of the union.
“I will not deal with non-members. This is not their home,” he said firmly.
Sossion, who stepped down from the position in 2021, is hoping to make a political comeback after a recent court ruling gave him some relief.
In February, the Court of Appeal found that the Teachers Service Commission had unfairly dismissed him from teaching.
This was a boost to his chances, as the rules of the KNUT require the top leaders to have teaching experience.
However, the TSC has maintained that Sossion is still not registered as a teacher. According to the commission’s legal team, he has never reapplied after being removed from the teachers’ register years ago, which could lock him out of the race.
Sossion was removed from the register back in 2019 after opposing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and urging teachers to boycott the training sessions.
After leaving KNUT, Sossion joined politics and served as a nominated MP under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) until 2022.
Sossion wrote to Oyuu about his intention to return to KNUT as a candidate. The letter cited the Constitution and labor laws as grounds for his candidacy. However, Oyuu dismissed his move by stating that he never received any letter from Sossion and claimed it did not mean much even if it were true.
The KNUT elections are around the corner, with nominations set for April 2 at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu, where delegates will be expected to vote the following day during a special conference.
With both sides digging in, the contest is shaping up to be a tough battle that could define the future of the teachers’ union.
