This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
On Thursday morning, August 29, 2019, a heated power struggle unfolded at the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) headquarters in Nairobi, as executive members attempted to fire embattled Secretary-General Wilson Sossion.
The National Executive Council (NEC) members, who had been seeking to hold a meeting despite a Labour Court order halting it on Wednesday, forced their way into Knut House on Mfangano Street.
According to reports, it was unclear whether Sossion, who is also a nominated Member of Parliament, was in the office at the time of the incident.
Police officers deployed to the scene shortly after 9am and restrained the charging officials.
The Labour Court had temporarily stopped the meeting on Wednesday, following an urgent application filed by Sossion through his lawyer, Judith Guserwa.
Guserwa argued that some NEC members were planning to illegally remove Sossion from office, citing that they had no power under the Knut constitution to convene or proceed with a council meeting that had been postponed.
However, the Knut officials insisted that Sossion must leave the union, blaming him for their troubles with the Teachers Service Commission, their employer.
