We won’t come, Knut officials summoned over CBC tell TSC

Grade Three pupils clean up Othaya market in Nyeri as part of CBC activities. Eleven Knut branch secretaries from western region who have been summoned to appear before TSC disciplinary committee for disrupting CBC training sessions have said they will not honour the summons. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • They are accused of inciting teachers to snub the trainings.
  • The union officials said they will only take instructions from Knut.
  • They said they are not answerable to TSC.

Eleven branch secretaries of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) from western region have been summoned to appear before the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) disciplinary committee on Monday next week.

The Knut executive secretaries are accused of disrupting the launch of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) training sessions on April 23, 2019 in the regions in Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia and Bungoma.

They are accused of inciting teachers to snub the trainings.

DEFY SUMMONS

But the affected union officials, led by their chairman, Mr Patrick Chungani, have vowed not to appear before the disciplinary committee.

The tussle between the union officials and the teachers’ employer is expected to spill over to the courts after those affected remained defiant and accused TSC of trying to intimidate them.

Mr Chungani said Knut had instructed a lawyer to file an application at the Labour court in Milimani, Nairobi to challenge the move by TSC to take disciplinary measures against the officials.

SHOW CAUSE LETTERS

“TSC wrote [letters to] show cause why we should not be terminated or be struck off the payroll for inciting teachers and disrupting the training sessions during the launch of the competency-based curriculum in April 2019,” said Mr Chungani.

The union official said that after consultations with the Knut headquarters, they had decided to snub the summons since they are not answerable to TSC.

WASTE OF TIME

“We were following the instructions and directions of the Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion and for TSC to serve us with summons to appear before the disciplinary committee is a waste of time since we will not show up,” said Mr Chungani in Kakamega town.

The union officials said they will only take instructions from Knut, their employer and not the TSC, and the decision to summon them amounted to intimidation and a waste of time.

“Let it be stated clearly that no executive secretary from western region purportedly summoned by the TSC disciplinary panel shall appear before it. We are chief executive officers in our own right and at no time are we answerable to TSC.

“It is myopic for TSC to imagine the commission can grill an executive officer of Knut. We are answerable to the Knut chief executive officer Wilson Sossion,” said Mr Chungani.