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Ruto intervenes in North Eastern crisis, pledges local hiring amid teacher exodus
President William Ruto and his Deputy Kithure Kindiki during the Nyota Start-up Capital Disbursement at Garissa High School in Garissa County.
President William Ruto has intervened in the ongoing education crisis in North Eastern Kenya, pledging to prioritise the recruitment of local teachers to stabilise a sector currently crippled by insecurity and the mass exodus of non-local teachers.
The President's directive comes in the wake of the brutal murder of teacher Stephen Musili in Hulugho, Garissa County, on January 26, 2026, which sparked a fresh wave of panic, with 33 non-local teachers in the sub-county currently demanding immediate relocation.
President Ruto stated that the long-standing friction between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and non-local tutors who have frequently fled the region due to Al-Shabaab threats will be addressed by hiring educators from within the local community.
“I want to assure you that all those teachers who left this region for security and other reasons will be replaced by local Northern Kenyan teachers. We will ensure we have optimum staffing levels just like the rest of the country,” the President asserted.
The region currently faces a massive staffing imbalance with 6,500 non-local teachers and 1000 locals.
Over 1,000 local teachers are expected to graduate soon from Garissa University and regional teacher training colleges in the three North Eastern counties.
President Ruto said that his administration has already hired 100,000 teachers nationwide and is using affirmative action to ensure Northern Kenya is no longer disadvantaged by high turnover rates.
He pledged a massive overhaul of the region’s education infrastructure, including the construction of modern hostels to accommodate the growing student population.
“Through the affordable Housing Programme, we have allocated Sh18 billion for Garissa County. This investment will fund the construction of housing units, markets, and hostels for our youth in TVETs and KMTCs. We have already begun work at Garissa University to build a hostel that will house 1,700 students,” said President Ruto.
The Head of State emphasised his administration's commitment to ensure the region’s education facilities are at par with the rest of the country.
“Your children deserve an education equal to any other child in Kenya. While we have faced staffing challenges due to insecurity, I assure you that teachers who left the region will be replaced by local educators from Northern Kenya. This strategy will ensure optimum staffing levels and long-term stability for our schools,” the President added.
Brutal execution
The region has long been plagued by the scourge of terrorism, with Al-Shabaab militants specifically targeting non-local teachers destabilising the education sector.
This threat turned lethal on January 26, 2026, when suspected terrorists stormed the home of Mr Musili in Hulugho, Garissa County, and shot him dead.
The brutal execution has sent shockwaves through the teaching fraternity, heightening calls for the urgent replacement of non-local staff with indigenous educators who are less vulnerable to targeted extremist violence.
TSC Chairperson Dr Jamleck Muturi said that a multi-agency team was handling teacher safety. But the commission remains silent on the specific transfer requests of the traumatised survivors.
Victor Onyango, a colleague of the late Mr Musili, recounted the horrific moment suspected terrorists fired 26 bullets at his friend.
"Our colleague tried to run, but they shot him 26 times. He was jovial and spoke pure Somali, which ironically led some to suspect he was a security agent," Onyango said.
He, alongside others like Agnes Kavata, who survived a terrifying night confrontation with the militants, has vowed never to return to the classroom in that region.
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