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Court stops recruitment of teachers in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Lamu counties
A lesson in progress at Hormuud Primary and Secondary School in Ifo II Refugee Camp, part of the Dadaab Refugee Complex in Garissa County, on September 17, 2018.
Employment and Labour Relations Court has stopped the recruitment of teachers for senior schools in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, and Lamu counties after three tutors claimed they have been serving in the volatile areas on contract expecting to be absorbed permanently.
The trio claims that they are being subjected to a fresh recruitment for jobs they have been performing, unlike their counterparts serving as interns in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), who are being moved to permanent terms without re-application.
Teachers Service Commission advertised the recruitment of teachers to fill 2,082 ‘Attrition Vacancies’ in senior schools in November 2025.
The teachers, however, said the "Attrition Vacancies" is factually incorrect and misleading and their employer is attempting to recruit new staff to perform duties that they are competently performing.
“That pending the hearing of this application, this honorable court is pleased to issue an interim conservatory order staying the recruitment process advertised by the respondent vide the advertisement titled…,” the court said.
The court directed lawyer Charles Mwalimu to serve the court documents upon TSC, who will have seven days to file its response.
The case will be heard on February 9. The three teachers argued that subjecting them to a fresh process yet those in JSS are being absorbed on permanent basis is a blatant violation of the constitution on freedom from discrimination.
“It is within public knowledge that the respondent has simultaneously been confirming Junior Secondary School (JSS) interns to permanent terms to ensure continuity, while subjecting the Petitioners, who serve in hardship zones, to fresh recruitment for their own jobs. This differential treatment violates Article 27 of the constitution (Freedom from Discrimination),” Mr Titus Kyalo Kilonzo said.
Mr Kilonzo said he was appointed to the position of Secondary Teacher II (Grade C2) in June 2023, on a contractual basis for a period of three years.
His colleagues were similarly employed on diverse dates between 2020 and 2023 to serve in Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera and Lamu counties on contract terms.
He said a perusal of the specific vacancies listed for Garissa County in the said advertisement reveals that the TSC intended to recruit a teacher for the exact position he currently holds.
“I am the current holder of this position. There is no vacancy at the station caused by natural attrition, retirement, or death. The "vacancy" is an artificial creation designed to unlawfully terminate my services by replacing me with a new recruit,” he said.
The teachers alleged that the pattern of "constructive dismissal by re-advertisement" was replicated across the region, affecting other teachers.
“It is therefore in the interests of justice, public policy, and constitutional protection of human dignity, equality, and the right to fair labor practices, that the conservatory orders be granted urgently to preserve the status quo and prevent grave injustice,” the teachers stated in the petition.
