By Fredrick Kioko.
A section of teachers in Yatta, Machakos County, say they are living in fear of arrest after receiving summons from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) requiring them to record statements over alleged breaking into a building and committing a felony.
The notices, issued by the DCI office in Yatta, require the teachers to appear before investigators and record statements regarding the alleged offence.
The summons warn that failure to comply with the requisition may render the recipients liable to prosecution.
The development comes after a section of teachers staged demonstrations at the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) offices in Kithimani to express their dissatisfaction with some of the union's current office holders.
The teachers claim they were exercising their constitutional right to demonstrate and picket peacefully to air grievances concerning the leadership of their union.
They now accuse the union leadership of victimising them for expressing their concerns, arguing that KNUT should instead be at the forefront of defending teachers' rights.
The controversy comes at a time when teachers across the country are participating in bonding activities organised through sports by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
According to Jacob Malonza, the coordinator of the sports activities in Yatta, teachers have been divided into clusters comprising educators from different zones to encourage interaction, teamwork and bonding through competition.
Malonza said the sporting activities were expected to run until September 5 as part of preparations for World Teachers' Day celebrations, with teachers who progress to the national level expected to be recognised and rewarded.
However, the ongoing dispute within KNUT has overshadowed the activities in Yatta.
Daniel Mutua, a teacher in Katangi, said the problems began following the KNUT elections held in January this year, after which some teachers raised concerns about the outcome.
Mutua said teachers who participated in the demonstrations were seeking to air grievances over the election of the union's Executive Secretary, whom they claimed was not duly elected and therefore should not continue holding office.
He said the subsequent involvement of lawyers and the DCI had created an atmosphere of intimidation among teachers.
"As teachers, we need to work in harmony. We only wanted to air our grievances and have our concerns addressed," Mutua said.
Catherine Nduku said many teachers were dissatisfied with the KNUT elections held in January, prompting the demonstrations and subsequent summons from the DCI.
She questioned why the union leadership would allegedly resort to involving lawyers and investigators instead of engaging teachers and addressing their concerns.
Nduku said the Executive Secretary should be standing with teachers and helping resolve their grievances rather than subjecting them to what she described as intimidation.
Another teacher, Francis Muthusi, said he received the DCI summons through WhatsApp and felt threatened by the development.
Muthusi maintained that teachers have a democratic right to demonstrate and picket peacefully and called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.
Efforts to reach KNUT Executive Secretary Kasimba Ngui for comment were unsuccessful. Although he initially answered calls, he hung up after being informed about the subject of the inquiry and did not respond to subsequent calls.
However, Yatta DCIO Barrack Otengo dismissed fears that the summons automatically meant the teachers would be arrested.
Otengo said his office had received reports alleging that an office had been broken into and a felony committed, prompting investigators to summon the teachers to record statements.
He said the teachers had not honoured the summons but that the DCI was still waiting for them to provide information that could assist with the investigations.
Otengo explained that compelling the teachers to appear and record statements did not necessarily mean they would be arrested.
He added that if the teachers believed they were being intimidated, they were equally free to report the matter to the police and have their complaints investigated.
The teachers are now calling on Ngui to withdraw the matter from the DCI and instead engage them in dialogue, arguing that the union leadership should unite teachers and defend their interests rather than involve them in criminal investigations.
The dispute has raised fresh questions over the state of relations between sections of Yatta teachers and their union leadership, with the affected teachers insisting that their grievances should be resolved through dialogue rather than intimidation or police involvement.
