Kenyan court dismisses junior school teachers’ lawsuit over new union — Nation Kenya

Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court has dismissed a constitutional petition by a group of junior school teachers seeking to create a separate union outside the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut). Justice Monica Mbaru ruled that the petitioners had chosen the wrong legal procedure, Nation Kenya reports.

The court points to the appeals procedure

The teachers challenged the Registrar of Trade Unions’ refusal to approve the establishment of the Kenya Junior School Teachers Union (KEJUSTU). The judge noted that the applicants had not explained why they could not use the appeals mechanism provided for under Section 30 of the Labour Relations Act instead of filing a constitutional petition.

According to Mbaru, the petitioners did not prove the existence of special or exceptional circumstances that would justify filing a constitutional petition rather than using the dispute resolution mechanism provided by law. The court also stressed that references to constitutional provisions cannot be used to bypass the procedure established by Parliament for labour disputes.

Positions of the teachers and unions

The group was led by James Odhiambo. Its representatives argued that junior school teachers have specialised qualifications and distinct employment issues to which the existing unions allegedly had not given sufficient attention. According to them, the new organisation could represent more than 100,000 teachers across the country.

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On June 6, 2026, they applied to the Registrar of Trade Unions for a certificate to begin the process of establishing and registering the association. On July 1, the Registrar refused, stating that the interests of these teachers were already adequately represented by Kuppet and Knut. In his view, the emergence of a new association could lead to rivalry between unions and competition for members.

Kuppet told the court that junior school teachers fall within its scope of representation. The union’s Secretary General, Akelo Misori, said that Kuppet amended its constitution in 2024 to provide for the representation of such teachers at branch and national levels. Knut also stated that it represents teachers in primary and post-primary education and had not excluded junior school teachers from its activities.

The court noted that junior school teachers already have elected representatives in Kuppet at branch and national levels. The petition was dismissed as unfounded.