A Mandera-based teacher has reiterated his reluctance to return to his former station following series of attacks by suspected Al-Shabaab militants that claimed lives of 64 people last year.
Raphael Kerauni, a high school teacher at Takaba secondary school in west Mandera, said the region is inhabitable following perceived religious animosity between Christians and Muslims.
“That place is never safe for me and my family," Kerauni said.
"When I remember what happened to my colleagues, I fear getting back to my former station. With my young family, it will be impossible to settle comfortably," he said, referring to the many teachers who were killed during the attack.
He said that the local people are friendly and were unlikely to harm good servants like teachers but accused security agents over porous borders that have been used frequently by the terrorists whenever planning to kill.
“I don’t think killers came from the country. They come from outside the country due to porous borders in the north. Our security agents are not doing enough,” he said.
He wondered why teachers’ employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), has refused to accept their transfer requests and vowed to obey the stand of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) over the same issue.
“I wonder why TSC has refused to sign our transfer letters. We can never work again in those regions. Some of us have already attained the threshold for transfer from a hardship place which is five years. We will obey our union till a lasting remedy is found,” he added.
He plans to continue with farming activities till the government comes up with a clear communication over the matter. He insisted that the only option for the menace is to transfer them to their home counties.