Collins Oyuu, Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), addresses Journalists at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on April 2, 2027.
“Hii imeenda” loosely translated to ‘This is a gone case” is what a victorious Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary-general Collins Oyuu chanted after he secured a second five-year term in elections held yesterday at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.
Mr Oyuu was among 10 out of the 12 officials of the executive committee who were elected unopposed in the dramatic polls. But the victory did not come easy. He had to navigate through court orders, mobilise delegates to back him and kept his cards close to his chest in order to outwit his rival and predecessor Wilson session.
For Mr Oyuu, the treacherous fight he has engaged in has actually revealed to him who his friends are, as well as enemies. He started the battle for re-election once Mr Wilson Sossion declared he would seek a return to one of the most influential positions in trade unions.
He had resigned from his position on June 21, 2021, a day before the national election, which saw Mr Oyuu, then serving as chairman, easily sail through as secretary-general.
Until Thursday evening, Mr Oyuu was fighting court orders to have the election proceed as planned.
The first setback for Mr Sossion and victory for Mr Oyuu was on Wednesday when Justice Jacob Gakeri dismissed the former’s petition filed under a certificate of urgency and seeking to stop the election until his case is heard and determined.
Mr Sossion, a former ODM nominated MP, claimed in the petition that the KNUT election process, outlined in a circular dated March 13, should be suspended until all union branches, including Turkana, and the 47 County councils conduct elections, and are declared fully constituted.
Still, Mr Sossion sought to bar the processing, registration and/or certification of any election results by the officers from the Ministry of Labour.
While this was a temporary reprieve for Mr Oyuu, he commenced the election process with nominations on Thursday before they faced another hurdle, a petition by George Anyona Arek who got orders stopping the elections. He served the union at 12.00 noon forcing Mr Oyuu to set rolling his machinery to gain control of the union.
“We started nominations yesterday but towards the end, there was a hitch. We received a court order directed to the registrar of trade unions, to have the election cancelled. Had the order stood, we wouldn't have had elections today (Friday),” said Mr Oyuu.
Immediately they got wind of the order, he engaged the union’s legal personnel, and with speed, countered the same, responding to the petitioners. He admitted that delegates came prepared for polls but the back-and-forth left everyone confused.
Following the earlier orders, there was anxiety among members of the 110 branches who were already in Kisumu for the election. The delegates had booked into hotels while they waited for clearance to hold the poll or to return home, in case the courts ruled so.
Four hours later, they had received the orders but the documents were yet to be sent to them by the courts. Mr Oyuu chose to keep this to himself so that his rivals do not pull another surprise.
Delegates take part in the Knut nominations at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on April 2, 2026, ahead of tomorrow’s elections.
“I didn't want to reveal that we had already secured an order to proceed, so that I establish who our enemies were because they were celebrating. I took time and late in the evening is when I released the counter order,” said Mr Oyuu.
In his own words, he admitted fearing for the worst and was concerned about the turn of events that almost threatened not only his second term, but also the entire election process.
“I must admit that it was not easy. For a while, I got shivers fearing for the worst, but resorted to kneeling down in prayers when the counter order giving the elections the greenlight was yet to be sent to us. We could not celebrate because we had to know who our enemies were, and we saw them,” said Mr Oyuu.
The Sossion-led team had started celebrations, which would be cut short hours later by Justice Nzioki Wa Makau who issued fresh orders, clearing the way for the 2,280 KNUT delegates to elect office bearers for the 44 national positions, which were up for grabs.
Former Knut Secretary-General Wilson Sossion.
The judge stated that the earlier orders he had issued stopping the election had been obtained by the petitioner Mr Arek, through concealment of crucial material facts.
However, the petition will still be heard inter partes as earlier scheduled by the court, Justice Makau directed.
"The elections slated for April 3, 2026 shall proceed as scheduled since the orders suspending the polls were obtained by concealment of crucial material to wit that there was another pending before the Nairobi Employment and Labour Relations Court in ELRC Petition No E099 of 2026, Wilson Sossion versus Kenya National Union of Teachers and others in which a ruling was delivered earlier on Thursday declining to grant the orders sought,” Justice Makau ruled.
He stated that the orders be served electronically to all parties including the returning officer.
The drama aside, with eight regions in his basket, Mr Oyuu was already dictating terms in the race. What also worked for Mr Oyuu was the endorsement he got from the secretary-general of the Central Organisation for Trade Unions, Francis Atwoli.
Collins Oyuu, Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), addresses Journalists at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on April 2, 2027.
This endorsement, far from symbolic, signalled a carefully engineered ground game that placed his rivals on the defence.
It was viewed as a vote of confidence in Mr Oyuu, a move that would see many delegates rally behind him. He also attributed his victory to his track record, which he feels brought stability to the union that was once rocked by wrangles.
“It is true that we have worked for these teachers. We shall escalate and augment what we have to make it a notch higher so that teachers enjoy better terms and conditions of service, courtesy of this great union. I will not feel shy to say that Hii imeenda, that is where we are,” said Mr Oyuu.
He pointed out that he took over leadership when the union had 9, 600 members, which he improved to 179, 000 in the last five years.
He also pointed out that there are 45, 000 teachers subscribing on agency fees whom he intends to transform into KNUT members. Mr Oyuu said the outcome of the election only illustrated how organised the union is.
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