Delocalized Teachers Worried About Safety with General Elections Looming
Teachers who are working in counties that are far away from their home counties are getting worried about the August 9th elections looming.
Some of the teachers said that they might not manage to go to their homes when schools break for the mid-term break saying that they will not be able to afford transport for the journey back home and back to school in just one week.
Schools went home on the 2nd for the mid-term break with around 250 schools selected by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to be used as tallying centres.
According to a report issued by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), six counties are highly likely to experience electoral violence during the upcoming 2022 General Elections.
According to NCIC, the areas likely to experience electoral violence before, during and after the polls are Mombasa, Kericho, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Nairobi and Kisumu.
“Six counties recorded an inflated vulnerability for electoral violence in the upcoming General Elections. The major impending threat being pre-existing conflicts around issues of inequality in the distribution of resources, high population density in informal settlements and infiltration of organized criminal gangs and groups,” says the report.
An unfortunate incident occurred last week when a high school teacher, Cyrus Kirukura was killed when attackers sprayed bullets on him.
The school’s headteacher Elijah Letakai revealed that the teacher was killed just 200 metres from the school’s main gate, a few minutes after noon.
Following the incident, the following KUPPET Samburu Branch issued the following statement to condemn the incident:
PRESS STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF KURUKURA CYRUS JAMES OF BARAGOI BOYS SECONDARY SCHOOL SAMBURU NORTH
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Members of the Fourth Estate,
It is with shock and disbelief to learn that Cyrus Kurukura of Baragoi Boys Secondary school is no more.
The brutal hand of characters who adhere to no law has robbed us a hard-working English and Literature colleague.
As teachers representative, we condemn the act in the strongest terms possible.
On this too we demand that teachers from this danger zones of Baragoi be evacuated with immediate effect.
As a union, we have advised all our colleagues in the danger zone to flee for safety until the government addresses the perennial insecurity problems in Samburu North.
Let all schools be shut and the issue be addressed as soon as possible.
The escalation of the insecurity in the Baragoi zone shows the magnitude of the situation, the ability and preparedness of these criminals to cause mayhem for their known reasons.
On this too we demand a statement from the CS Interior and National co-ordination on how teachers shall continue teaching in this danger zone.
When a pupil or student is canned it is news all over, but when a teacher losses his or her life to lawbreakers it is no issue to the employer and Ministry of Education.
Up to and until the issue is addressed and solved conclusively our members are advised to stay away from these dangerous areas.
Yours faithfully,
Lengoyiap William
Executive Secretary
KUPPET Samburu Branch
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