The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) secretary general Wilson Sossion has defended the proposal by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to nominate him as the Member of Parliament.
As workers’ representative, he said he will continue representing the labour movement in the National Assembly.
“I shall carry the spirit of workers to the floor of the House. I will do this for the best interest of the Kenyan workers and I applaud ODM party for nominating me and taking the interest of workers at heart,” he said.
He challenged other parties to also increase workers representation in the executive and Judicial Service Commission for them to contribute in policy formulation and decision making.
“As a labour movement, we are seeking to be placed at positions of influence and be part of the organs when critical decisions are made,” he said.
The chairman of Trade Union Congress of Kenya (Tuc- Kenya) Tom Odege said the umbrella union sent out a circular to all political parties requiring them to make commitment to consider representation of workers in the National Assembly, Senate and all the county assemblies.
“To our disappointment, only ODM responded to our circular and made the bold move to enlist Sossion among their selected candidates,” he said during a press conference yesterday.
He, however, clarified that the nomination of the giant teachers’ union boss will not make the unions to endorse particular candidates saying teachers have a free choice of electing leaders.
“We cannot force teachers to elect leaders but they will make their own decision at the ballot on August 8,” he said.
Other people in the orange party list submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) include outgoing Migori Women’s MP Dennitah Ghatti representing people with disabilities, Wesonga Lutta, from Kakamega county, John Ketora, the Orange Young Democrats League official and Asha Abdi, from Isiolo and representing marginalised groups.