Teachers Issue 7-Day Strike Notice After Killing of Samburu JSS Teacher.
The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), acting through their respective Samburu County branches, have issued a seven-day strike notice to the national government following the killing of a Junior Secondary School (JSS) teacher in Samburu East Sub-County.
The joint announcement was made during a press briefing held on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at which representatives of both unions outlined the circumstances of the killing, condemned the persistent state of insecurity affecting teaching staff in the region, and issued a series of formal demands to national security and judicial authorities.
Background to the Incident
The teacher at the centre of the notice has been identified as Mark Duncan Lemaramba, who was posted at Nguitongon Comprehensive School in Samburu East Sub-County. According to statements issued by the unions, Lemaramba was attacked at his residence by unidentified assailants, who killed him and made away with livestock belonging to him.
The perpetrators remain at large, and investigative agencies have opened inquiries into the killing, though the unions stated that the circumstances of the attack, along with the identity and motive of those responsible, remain unestablished at the time of the announcement.
Samburu KNUT Secretary-General Richard Lentaya addressed the media on the incident, stating that Lemaramba’s death forms part of a broader pattern in which teachers in the region have lost their lives without what he described as adequate investigative follow-through by the relevant agencies. Lentaya said the union condemns the killing and demands swift action from the relevant authorities.
KUPPET Samburu Chapter Secretary-General Peter Leteipa separately confirmed that the union had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the national government, specifying that the notice would lapse and trigger the union’s stated countermeasures unless the government addressed the insecurity affecting teachers deployed in designated high-risk zones of Samburu East Sub-County within the stipulated period.
Regulatory and Institutional Demands
In their joint statement, KUPPET and KNUT Samburu County Branch outlined the following formal demands directed at named government institutions:
- Ministry of Interior and National Administration — the unions demand a security crackdown in the affected areas of Samburu East Sub-County, alongside enhanced deployment aimed at protecting teachers, learning institutions, and residential areas occupied by teaching staff.
- Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) — the unions demand the immediate identification, tracking, and arrest of all individuals responsible for the killing of Mark Duncan Lemaramba.
- Kenya Police Service — the unions demand intensified security patrols and a rapid-response presence in high-risk zones of Samburu East Sub-County, including residential areas where teachers reside.
- Judiciary of Kenya — the unions demand that, upon arrest, the perpetrators be subjected to the full judicial process and face the maximum legal penalties available under Kenyan law.
- National Government (general) — the unions demand a guarantee of security for all teachers and all areas affected by insecurity across Samburu County, to allow teaching staff to carry out their duties without fear for their personal safety.
Conditions of the Strike Notice
The unions stated that failure to meet the above demands within the seven-day period will result in the implementation of the following measures, presented by the unions as a complete list of the safeguard actions to be undertaken:
- Immediate withdrawal of all teachers from high-risk or insecurity-affected areas of Samburu East Sub-County.
- Organisation of protests at the sub-county and county headquarters in Samburu County.
- Submission of formal petitions to relevant government offices at the sub-county and county levels.
- A full industrial strike affecting learning institutions across Samburu County, to remain in effect until the stated demands are met.
The unions further indicated that these measures, should they be triggered, would extend beyond the immediate vicinity of the incident to cover all designated high-risk zones within Samburu East Sub-County, with the objective of safeguarding union members pending demonstrable government action on security.
Context of Regional Insecurity
The notice was issued one day after learners across Samburu County resumed learning for Third Term of the 2026 academic calendar, a timing that the unions noted raises the possibility of disruption to ongoing learning activities should the government fail to meet the stated demands within the seven-day window.
The Samburu incident follows a broader pattern of security-related concerns affecting teaching staff in other regions of Kenya during the current academic year.
In Garissa County, a teacher identified as Stephen Musili, posted at Hulugho Primary School, was killed on January 26, 2026, in an attack attributed to suspected Al-Shabaab militants operating near the Kenya–Somalia border.
Following that incident, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), through Acting TSC Secretary Eveleen Mitei, issued a statement condemning the attack and confirmed that compassionate leave and counselling support had been extended to affected non-local teachers.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba subsequently informed the National Assembly that a multi-agency team comprising officials from the Ministry of Education, the TSC, and the Ministry of Interior had been deployed to assess and address insecurity affecting teachers in Northern Kenya.
Separately, on July 30, 2026, the Senate Standing Committee on Education, chaired by nominated Senator Betty Montet, held a consultative session in Nairobi with TSC Acting Chief Executive Officer Eveleen Mitei concerning a petition filed by teachers from Samburu County.
That petition addressed matters including prolonged acting appointments, staffing shortages, career stagnation, and working conditions within the county, distinct from the security concerns raised in the present strike notice.
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Status as of Publication
As of August 26, 2026, the seven-day notice period issued by KUPPET and KNUT Samburu County Branch remains active, with the deadline for government response falling in early September 2026. Investigative agencies, including the DCI, have not issued a public statement confirming the arrest of any suspects in connection with the killing of Mark Duncan Lemaramba.
No formal response has been issued by the Ministry of Interior, the National Police Service, or the Teachers Service Commission specifically addressing the demands contained in the August 25, 2026, joint statement by KUPPET and KNUT.
Teachers Issue 7-Day Strike Notice After Killing of Samburu JSS Teacher.
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