Former Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general Wilson Sossion has doubled down on his bid to reclaim the union’s top seat, setting up a direct showdown with incumbent Collins Oyuu ahead of the April 3 national elections.
Sossion maintains he is fully eligible to run, brushing off Oyuu’s claims that the Knut constitution bars him from the race for not being a member.
Oyuu, speaking after a union meeting in Embu on March 18, dismissed Sossion’s candidature, arguing that Knut does not recognise “life membership.”
“Some people are coming back to say ‘I’m a life member of the union’. In Knut leadership there’s no life member, the constitution is very clear; membership is by contribution and a member who we pick,” Oyuu said.
“We want to tell you, loud and clear before central region, Knut is not a banana republic. Take your time and go elsewhere, fetch for other things.”
But Sossion has hit back, framing Oyuu’s remarks as panic in the face of a serious challenger.
He insisted the union is democratic and does not discriminate against members who comply with its rules.
“I’m a fully paid-up member of Knut since September 1, 1993 when I joined the teaching service. Even when I stepped out in 2021, I have paid my union dues in full up to and including June 2026, and even paid supplementary dues, which is allowed internationally,” Sossion said.
The Knut constitution requires members to pay a Sh100 entrance fee alongside annual subscriptions and any levies set by the National Executive Council or Annual Delegates Conference.
It also limits membership to those who are or have been actively engaged as teachers. Any disputes over membership are referred to the National Executive Council for review by the union’s Professional Standards Committee.
Sossion’s eligibility question was effectively settled on February 27 when the Court of Appeal ruled that his deregistration and removal from the teachers’ register by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in 2019 were unlawful.
While the court acknowledged that TSC had grounds to terminate his employment following his political nomination, it found the process flawed and procedurally unfair.
The ruling restored his status as a teacher, clearing the way for his participation in union elections.
Sossion, who led Knut from December 2013 to June 2021 before resigning to focus on his role as a nominated MP, says his comeback is driven by pressure from teachers.
Speaking during a radio interview, he claimed the union had lost its voice under current leadership.
“The clamour for me to go back to Knut is not my initiative. It is the initiative of teachers across Kenya because Oyuu and his group have reduced the union from a vibrant Marxist union to a silent social union that sees nothing, hears nothing and says nothing about teachers,” he said.
He added that he had initially stepped back, hoping for a government role, but teachers urged him to return.
“They’re telling me, ‘No, don’t wait for government. Come and do this one because we know you can do it well for us.’”
Sossion likened his return to the Biblical Moses responding to the cries of Israelites in Egypt.
“I have heard the cries of my teachers in Egypt and I will go back,” he said.
The Knut elections are scheduled to be held at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on April 3, preceded by nominations at a special delegates conference a day earlier.
Sossion challenged Oyuu to organise a democratic election process and prepare to face him at the ballot during elections.
The elections will be through secret ballot by all delegates accredited to participate at either the Annual Delegates Conference or a Special Delegates Conference.
“I’m eligible. Oyuu should prepare for a democratic process and accept both our names on the ballot, or alternatively, because he is retired, step aside,” Sossion said.
He criticised what he termed a growing trend of retirees clinging to union leadership.
“We have a bad culture where retirees are running unions. That is wrong. They cannot speak for their grandchildren. I want to face a teacher under 60 on the ballot,” he added.
Sossion, 57, said he would not have contested if a younger teacher had stepped forward to challenge for the secretary general position.
According to Knut’s constitution, every full time officer of the union shall vacate office upon serving his full five-year term in office, age notwithstanding, but will not be eligible for re-election upon attainment of 65 years of age.
Oyuu was 56 when he took over Knut leadership from Sossion in June, 2021.
