Former KNUT Secretary General William Sossion

On 1st July 2021, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) offices on Mfangano Street in Nairobi were raided by auctioneers. This very timely auctioneering process took place just five days after KNUT’s previous Secretary General (SG) Wilson Sossion resigned from his position on 25th June 2021. Sossion had been the union’s SG since 2016.

The question is, was the auctioneering process a coincidence, or did the previous regime know their financial position was so bad and that KNUT was buried in debts?

KNUT New Executive Unaware of Debts

According to Hesbon Otieno, Deputy Secretary General, the new executive was not aware of any outstanding debt before assuming office. For a national union, it is very peculiar why such sensitive information was not known, not even to some of the executive members like the current Secretary General who was the acting KNUT National Chairman before the elections.

New KNUT Leadership.

Sossion has been replaced with Collins Oyuu who was the acting KNUT’s National Chairman. Oyuu is in turn deputized by Hesbon Otieno.

The new KNUT leadership was voted in on 26th June 2021, a day after Sossion resigned, through an election conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The election was done in person at Kasarani with the permission of Health Principal Secretary, Susan Mochache, after Sossion and his team gave the Ministry of Health clear measures they intended to follow. 1,878 union delegates from eight regions took part.

KNUT Ksh 1.4 Million Debt

Peter Amunga, KNUT’s Communications Officer, said the auctioneers arrived in the union’s offices on Thursday, 1st July and took some of the office equipment and electronics, and even tables and chairs.

According to the Deputy Secretary General Mr. Hesbon, KNUT has a debt of about Ksh 1.4 Million which it owes to various entities.

Amunga also stated that there are some KNUT secretaries in various parts of the country have not been paid for two years and some are seeking help from the courts. The auction was ordered by the court so that the aggrieved parties are able to get their money.

KNUT’s Head Office is now closed indefinitely