When Agnes Kavata received her posting to Hulugho Primary School in Garissa, it felt like the end of a long and arduous journey.
It had been nine years since she graduated from Tambach Teachers Training College in Elgeyo Marakwet and the 2022 appointment marked her first real entry into the teaching profession she loved.
She arrived in the North Eastern region during a period of forced optimism. Thousands of non-local teachers had previously been transferred out following targeted Al-Shabaab massacres and Ms Kavata was part of the pioneer wave of replacements meant to stabilise the education sector.
In September 2022, she reported to her station excited, hopeful and ready to mould young minds.
For four years, she managed the familiar tensions of the border region guided by occasional intelligence reports. But on the night of January 25, 2026, the threat became terrifyingly real when suspected Al-Shabaab militants struck.
Ms Kavata, now 34, recalls the paralysis of fear that gripped her as she realised death was knocking at her door.
She remembers the militants speaking in Swahili, their voices cold and demanding to know where her husband was.
Her neighbour and colleague Stephen Musili was not as fortunate. After sparing Ms Kavata, the militants moved to the next room and executed Mr Musili in a hail of gunfire.
“I am not okay. I am tense and nervous and that day was my worst nightmare. I don’t know what to do anymore. I love teaching, I love my learners, but I can’t do it anymore,” Ms Kavata told the Nation .
Stephen Musili with his wife, Leah, and their children. He was killed on Sunday, January 26, 2026 by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen.
Photo credit: Pool
Following the killing, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) granted Ms Kavata and 22 other non-local teachers compassionate leave and enrolled them in counselling.
However, the support has felt like a drop in the ocean compared to the depth of their trauma. While TSC offered counselling, Ms Kavata was forced to stop after only four sessions.
“I don’t have transport to go for those sessions as my financial situation doesn’t allow it. Furthermore, my husband, whom they were asking about, is still stuck in Garissa,” she said.
The mother of three now lives in a constant state of vigilance. Before the attack, she had noticed subtle warning signs of footprints at her door in the morning that should not have been there but she could not connect the dots until it was too late.
Now, she fears returning. She worries about her husband who is still teaching in another sub-county within Garissa.
“They know him. If they go for him, what will I do? I left my children with my in-laws because I knew this area was not safe for a family. Now even my Grade Six daughter knows everything. She keeps asking about her father who is stuck there,” Ms Kavata said.
Whenever intelligence suggests an imminent strike, male teachers abandon their residential quarters. They spend nights at police stations, the chief’s office or even sleeping in trenches. Sometimes they remain in these safe zones for up to a week surrounded by armed security, coming out only during the day to teach before retreating again at dusk.
Meshack Sifuna, 35, who joined the school in 2023, says the hostility has become unbearable. Mr Sifuna, a Social Studies teacher, was hired on the same day as the late Mr Musili.
Slain teacher Stephen Musili with his wife, Leah Musili.
Photo credit: Pool
“He was my friend, my colleague and my brother. We spoke at length about our future the day before he died. He was so jovial then the next day, I was helping carry his body into a vehicle. I can’t believe he is gone,” Mr Sifuna said.
Victor Onyango, a Mathematics and Chemistry teacher believes the danger is far from over. He points out that militants are patient — they allegedly threatened Mr Musili in 2022 but waited nearly four years to strike.
“They can be quiet for a year before they come for you. We are already in the spotlight. TSC would be making a blunder to transfer us within Garissa,” Mr Onyango said.
“My parents told me to just come home and engage in farming. Life is bigger than a career that is this risky,” he said.
Currently, about 55 non-local teachers in Hulugho Sub-County are seeking urgent relocation. They have met officials from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) where Deputy Secretary General Hesbon Otieno promised to intervene and push for transfers to safer counties.
The scale of the problem is staggering. North Eastern Kenya currently relies on about 6,500 non-local teachers compared to only 1,000 local teachers.
The TSC recently held a crisis meeting in Nairobi and dispatched a team to Garissa to assess the situation. While the commission has mobilised counselling, teachers on the ground feel that talk therapy is no match for the threat of an AK-47.
Ms Kavata, who waited nine years after college to finally receive her TSC number, is now ready to throw it all away to stay alive. She has made a direct plea to President William Ruto.
“Provide security to teachers in North Eastern. Losing your life in the line of duty is a blow no family should have to endure,” she said.
