Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has petitioned TSC at the Supreme Court over alleged continuous contempt of court. All that KNUT wants is the Supreme Court’s intervention over what it calls contempt of court orders by TSC.

Through its lawyer Senior Counsel, Paul Muite, Knut has written to the Supreme Court, requesting it to help fast-track pending contempt applications. KNUT is confident that this will completely nip the continued willful disobedience of court orders by Teachers Service Commission and fully restore the judicial authority of the Supreme Court, which has suffered untold abuses in the recent past.

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“While Knut has taken out a formal application citing TSC for contempt of court, the same is yet to be determined for reasons unbeknown to Knut despite overwhelming evidence of TSC’s blatant disregard of court’s judgment,”  reads part of the 26^th  November letter written by  Muite.

The pundit lawyer explained in the letter that at the beginning, it was TSC that sued Knut, following the declaration of industrial action over withdrawal of Labour by Knut members pursuant to Article 41 of the Constitution in December 2018, as a means of resolving various industrial grievances.

“I write to you on this matter because contempt of court orders and judgments by State organs/officers and commissions has now become the new norm. This constitutes a grave danger to the rule of law.It is a matter transcending parties in any particular litigation. It is matter for your office, the Chief Justice…. obedience to court orders is central to the rule of law and to judicial authority,” Muite added.

He also stressed in the letter that Knut has sought the Chief Justice’s attention owing to the shameful conduct portrayed by TSC, having itself moved to court as a petitioner to reject the court’s determination and openly defying and disobeying the court’s judgment.

The Kenya National union of teachers, (KNUT) secretary general, Wilson Sossion, has once again faulted the teachers’ service commission, TSC, for abating discrimination against KNUT members without shame or fear.

Speaking on TV47 on 17^th November, the KNUT boss expressed his disappointment with the teachers’ employer and blamed it for all the woes that KNUT has faced lately.

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Sossion stated that KNUT members were influenced to quit the union unconstitutionally. A member should quit a union through a letter to the employer, which should then be forwarded to the union. “It is the employer that is supposed to forward any letter written to TSC and the employer has not forwarded any letter,” explained Wilson Sossion.

Mr. Sossion accused TSC of denying KNUT members promotions and salary increments as agreed in the 2017-2020 Collective bargaining agreement, yet KUPPET members and non union members are being offered the same. “TSC decided to stop the promotion of any teacher who is a member of KNUT. If you are a member of a union, you are denied promotions, salary increments and that amounts to discrimination,” Sossion said.

In Sossion’s own words, TSC suspended the CBA between KNUT and TSC unilaterally in July 2019, contrary to the provisions of the CBA. He terms the behavior by TSC as the biggest violation of the labor rights of teachers.

Concerning teacher and safety in schools amid covid pandemic, the KNUT secretary general said that the responsibility of availing of masks should fully and totally shift to the government. He added that the preparation for January reopening of schools should not be given a casual treatment. “The two groups of frontline officers at the moment are the medics and teachers and they will get affected by this disease; that is why we are insisting that the reopening program and preparation for January should not be taken casually. It is no longer about COVID-19 and the graph; it is now about living with the virus. We have already had three classes running and we have learnt a lot from the classes and the global community.”