Wilson Sossion has resigned as the Secretary-General of Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).

Sossion announced on Friday that he will now concentrate on his legislative duties as a nominated Member of Parliament at the National Assembly.

“I shall remain loyal to Knut and always be available to advise and support the leadership,” he said.

Sossion said Knut members deserved credit for the restrain and sobriety they have shown in the face of open provocation and frustrations by the government.

Though sources claim Sossion fears losing, he has maintained that he wants to concentrate on politics and not union matters.

Sossion has resigned on the eve of union elections citing failure by the government to support his leadership.

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Through a statement, Sossion pledged to continue his fight for trade union members adding that so much had been achieved under his tenure.

“However, KNUT success story has not gone without hitches and challenges which I still believe were stage-managed by people with ulterior motives and enemies of trade unionism and who also thought that Sossion was a threat to State security. I believe that a strong Union is not good for the government which is a great fallacy. A strong trade union is good for quality education,” the statement reads in part.

In December last year, KNUT stakeholders opted to seek the aid of President Uhuru Kenyatta in oustering Sossion.

90 out of 100 secretaries had sought to bar Sossion from running again for union elections that had been scheduled for later in the year.

Through a letter, the officials accused Sossion of suppressing the union laws and making decisions without consultations.

“The act denies him the right and democratic viability to represent workers who don’t share an employer with him anymore,” the officials noted.

The officials wanted the Head of State together with Labour CS to come to their aid and restore sanity in the union.

Prior to that Sossion had complained of failure to support his leadership citing frustrations from union stakeholders.

In one instance, Sossion accused the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) of instigating attacks aimed at crippling KNUT.

Through a letter dated November 9, 2020, the SG intimated that his office has raised a number of concerns to the Labour CS Simon Chelugui’s office yet none of them has been addressed.

Sossion further claimed that the TSC was on a mission to cripple the operations of KNUT by attacking the check-off systems.

He cited that the check-off system was withdrawn for the months of July, August and December 2019. Ideally, he intimated that TSC had been offloading KNUT members massively contrary to the provisions of section 48 of Labour and Relations Act.

“All these matters have remained unresolved and your office has gone quiet about it whereas the TSC has continued to cripple the operations of Knut by attacking the check-off system, hence systematically, gradually diminishing the resources of the union,” Sossion said.

Chances of Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion retaining his seat in the upcoming union elections appear slim after members from Bomet joined others in rejecting his bid.

Sossion comes from Bomet county. The union is expected to hold elections later this month, but the date and venue are yet to be known.

In what appears to be a clear indication that they won’t support him, Bomet branch officials on Wednesday accused some top union officials of orchestrating the woes currently facing the members.

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The officials, who held a day-long meeting, did not say who they plan to support during the union elections.

“We are going to announce who we are going to support for the position in the next one week. We want to revive this union,” Bomet branch executive secretary Malel Langat said when asked if they would support Sossion.

Several union branches across the country have publicly said they will not support Sossion.

Malel said the union is slowly dying due to what he termed poor leadership.

He said the election would help revive the union and mend fences with the government.

Malel said members have drastically reduced as a result of wrangles with their employer – Teachers Service Commission – hence the need to reclaim it by getting rid of some officials at the national office.

The number of members has dropped from 180,000 to less than 20,000.

The union, according to officials, has been losing up to Sh140 million monthly  after TSC stopped deducting and remitting dues from members to the union.

The officials asked the governing body to announce the date and venue for the election to allow its members to plan for it.

They warned against any attempts to interfere with the election process through manipulation of delegates, saying there were reports of some officials engaging in such practices.

Sossion, who has over the years enjoyed support from teachers across the country over his determination and efforts to champion their welfare, started his teaching career in 1991 before being elected Bomet executive secretary.

In 2016, he rose to the position of Knut’s secretary general. In 2017, ODM party nominated him as a Member of Parliament.