By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
Kenya, August 25 ,2026 - For thousands of trained teachers waiting for permanent jobs, getting onto the government payroll is supposed to follow a process: a vacancy is advertised, applications are submitted, candidates are shortlisted and interviewed, and successful applicants are eventually appointed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
But remarks by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula have raised a different question , what happens if employment letters are reaching politicians before they reach teachers?
Wetang’ula alleged that some MPs are taken to State House and given batches of TSC appointment letters, which they are expected to distribute to teachers in their constituencies. He further claimed that some MPs have instead sold the opportunities for up to Ksh400,000.
The Speaker made the remarks while condemning MPs accused of exploiting unemployed teachers.
“There are some of our MPs whom I take to State House to see President William Ruto, and the President gives them ten TSC letters each, which they are supposed to take to teachers so that they can be officially employed by the government. However, they sell them to Kenyans for Ksh400,000. We will not tolerate such behaviour. If your MP is doing this, he should be prosecuted. There is no room for bribery and corruption in our country.”
The claims have not, however, established that any particular MP sold a TSC appointment letter, nor has an official investigation been announced to confirm the allegations.
That distinction is important because the central issue now is not simply whether some teachers are being asked for money, but whether appointment letters can legitimately be channelled through political offices in the first place.
How TSC recruitment is supposed to work#
The TSC has a formal recruitment system through which teaching vacancies are advertised and eligible teachers apply.
The process provides for online applications, shortlisting, interviews and vetting before successful candidates' documents and merit lists are forwarded for further processing and appointment.
This is what makes Wetang’ula’s claims significant.
If MPs are receiving actual TSC appointment letters directly from State House, questions arise over where those names came from, who selected the candidates and how such appointments fit into the Commission’s established recruitment process.
Article 237 of the Constitution establishes the TSC and gives it responsibility for the recruitment and employment of registered teachers.
Former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo says any political allocation of teaching jobs would therefore raise a constitutional question.
“Article 237 of the Constitution gives the Teachers Service Commission exclusive authority to recruit and appoint teachers independently, on merit and without political interference.”
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Odhiambo has called for the allegations to be investigated, arguing that political control over public jobs could undermine the independence of constitutional commissions.
“When the President, the Speaker, and MPs turn teacher recruitment into a patronage scheme, they are not just bypassing the TSC. They are dismantling one of the key independent institutions designed to protect public service from capture.”
Why the allegations matter to job seekers#
The claims come at a particularly sensitive time for Kenya's teaching profession.
Thousands of trained teachers remain unemployed while schools continue to report staffing shortages. Teacher unions have also raised concerns about inadequate staffing and called for recruitment to remain transparent and merit-based.
For a graduate who has spent years studying, completing teaching practice and applying repeatedly for vacancies, an alleged Ksh400,000 price tag changes the meaning of the recruitment process entirely.
It raises the possibility that a candidate could follow every official step and still lose an opportunity to someone with political connections or money.
The allegations have therefore placed renewed attention on the gap between how teacher recruitment is supposed to work on paper and how appointments are allegedly being accessed in practice.
Odhiambo says the claims require more than political condemnation.
“This demands investigation. It demands accountability. If the Speaker can admit this on camera and face no consequences, then the Constitution is a dead letter. The state must either respect the law or be held to it.”
For now, Wetang’ula's remarks remain allegations requiring verification. But they have put a simple question at the centre of Kenya's teacher recruitment debate: if TSC is constitutionally responsible for hiring teachers, how do appointment letters allegedly end up in the hands of politicians?
That is the question the TSC, government and any investigative authority will ultimately have to answer.