Uhuru Kenyatta risks serving as a one-term president if he fails to resolve the standstill between teachers and the Kenyan government over payment of teachers, a senior Masaba North Knut official has said.
Speaking on Monday at Rigoma area during a funeral of a teacher, assistant secretary general James Oteki said the president had treated the issue casually, making teachers perceive him unfavourably.
He said the government had displayed unwillingness to obey court orders, issued to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
“Teachers of this country don’t like meddling in politics but if the issue of our payments continues to be a hide and seek game, I see the president paying the ultimate prize in 2017. We are tired with the TSC and its antics of playing with us. The president has remained mum and has persistently failed to put matters to rest,” he said.
Oteki accused the government of treating teachers as ‘second class’ citizens by failing to address their issues but instead giving other issues priority.
“We are being treated as second class citizens and we have seen that. When the sugar industry is affected, the president speaks. However, when it’s about teachers, he goes mum. He must address the issue or else we take we sort it out in the elections,” he added.
The Supreme Court had upheld the decision by the Court of Appeal that compelled the government to pay teachers between 50-60 percent salary increases.
(Masaba North Knut assistant secretary James Oteki. He has cautioned President Uhuru Kenyatta over the delayed implementation of court order to have teachers payed their salary increment./Abuga Makori)