The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has finally set the date for its national elections.
On Saturday, current KNUT secretary-general Wilson Sossion bowed to pressure and called for a meeting of the top executive members of the union at their Headquarters in Nairobi’s Mfangano Street.
A team of 44 National Executive Committee (NEC) members and the National Steering Council (NSG) came to an agreement that the elections will take place on the 26th of June of 2021. The elections will be conducted at the Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi.
1,878 delegates are set to be involved in face-to-face elections as opposed to the virtual election exercise that Wilson Sossion suggested.
The Nomination papers shall be delivered to officers from the Ministry of Labour on the 25th of June 2021, a day before the elections take place.
110 branches of the teachers union have been given the responsibility of preparing and validating a list of delegates for the Special Delegates Conference (SDC) and then send it to the union headquarters by the 18th of June 2021.
4 top branch leaders among them the Executive Secretary, the Chairperson, the Treasurer, and the woman representative will have tickets to the Special Annual Delegates Conference (ADC).
Other slots will be allocated to branch executive committee members. In case of any additional slots, ordinary members shall be included as delegates.
“The Nomination of delegates to the Annual Delegates Conference shall be carried out by the branch executive council. Top officers of the branch shall automatically be delegates depending on the number of delegates allocated to each branch,” said KNUT secretary-General Wilson Sossion in a statement.
The Saturday NEC meeting was the first to be held since 2018 and this is against the provisions in the constitution that the meeting is held three times a year or in such a time that the Secretary-General and the National Chairman sees it fit.
Acting Chairman Collins Oyuu will contest against Sossion in the polls. This is after Stanley Mutai dropped out and decided to go for the national vice chairman seat.
New holders of offices with 11 positions at the national steering level will be filled besides 44 NEC positions that are set to be contested.
At the moment, KNUT is going through a financial crisis amid disputes with the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) that shrunk the membership and dues dwindled to Kshs. 35 Million a month from Kshs. 147 Million a couple of years ago.
Mr. Sossion revealed earlier that the Union needs Kshs. 100 million to fund the ongoing polls. Consequently, KNUT is counting on trade unions and organizations to fund the upcoming national elections.
Branch officials and workers of unions have not been paid for more than a year while some of KNUT’s offices had to close due to rent areas. Other offices face an auction from landlords after a sharp reduction in membership dues.
In support of Sossion, 18 branch executive committee members in Bomet have shown support for the current KNUT Sec-Gen to retain his seat.