Auctioneers raid KNUT offices over Sh. 1.4 Million Debt and Property
Yesterday on the first of July, auctioneers raided the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) offices on Mfangano Street in Nairobi over debt and attached property. The debt is estimated to be around Sh. 1.4 million.
Hesbon Otieno, the KNUT deputy secretary-general, said that the newly-elected officials were unaware of the debt.
“I arrived and found them taking office furniture and a lot of other equipment. I pleaded to talk to them but they declined,” said Hesbon Otieno.
He added that the latest development is the start of a major clean-up in the union as hidden rot begins to reveal itself.
“You can clearly see that some leaders were engaged in some underhand dealings and with time we will know what else is wrong and then fix it,” stated Otieno.
“None of us was aware of these debts,” he added.
The event happened a few days after former KNUT Secretary-General Wilson Sossion resigned blaming frustration from the government.
“I am making this appeal. I trust that the government will find it necessary to allow the union money to flow to the teachers,” he said.
KNUT has not been able to pay most of its officials following a rift between the union and the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). For instance, the medical staff of KNUT is still suspended and some branches have had to close. Three years ago the union had a big number of members with a total of 180,000 teachers enrolling with it. However, what remains of it is a mockery of the once giant union that enjoyed monthly dues of around Sh. 144 Million.
At the moment of writing this article, the union has just 15,000 members and receives just Sh. 12 million. This clearly cripples its operations bringing it to its knees.
“The reality of the matter is that the union no longer has money to sustain the huge salaries and perks of top officials as had always been the case,” said a newly-elected member of the National Executive Council.
After Sossion resigned, Collins Oyuu rose to the new post while Otieno became his deputy.
The members of the union stayed hopeful that the new administrators will solve the rift between the union and TSC. Some still feel that the rift will stay as teachers will continue to be the big losers in a tussle between the two giants.
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