KUPPET Officials Demand Akelo Misori Resignation, Disown Strike Withdrawal Notice.
Two-week national strike by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers (KUPPET) ended the next day. However, the union is now split along lines that some officials see as betrayal by the union’s top leaders.
At a news conference in Kisumu on Tuesday, teachers from counties in the Central, Western, Rift Valley, and Nyanza regions said that KUPPET Secretary General Akello Misori did not follow the right steps when he called off the strike.
So, they told Misori he had to quit right away because he made the choice that, in their opinion, was not in the best interests of their members.
The teachers said that they had not ended the strike and that it was still going on, even though Misori had said that it was over.
“We have not called off the strike; the strike is still going on. Please show us the minutes that show we called off the strike,” KUPPET Kisii Branch Secretary General Joseph Abicha said after a pause.
“You can’t tell us that we’ll meet and agree to the terms of the deal after the strike is over. Which comes first?” Abicha asked a question.
Abicha also said that the National Governing Council of the organ was meant to meet and decide whether to end the strike.
The teachers also asked Misori why he hadn’t told the National Governing Council about the deal with the government before it was made public.
“Teachers aren’t like electrical switches; you can’t just turn them on and off whenever you want,” Sabala Inyeni, one of the Vihiga leaders who was charged.
The teachers told the parents they were sorry for what happened, but they insisted they would still go ahead with their strike.
Abicha said, “To the parents, I know this has been a hard time for you. But we can’t promise what will happen next because we are still pressing on until all of our demands are met.”
Misori called off the strike on Monday so that the government could take care of issues that the state had told KUPPET officials it would take care of.
KUPPET Officials Demand Akelo Misori Resignation, Disown Strike Withdrawal Notice.
