The newspapers on Wednesday, October 14, covered various topics, including the likelihood of the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) being disrupted as teachers threaten industrial action.
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Source: UGC
1. Daily Nation
The administration of this year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations is under threat after the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) ordered its members to withdraw from all examination-related activities, citing unresolved disputes with the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
The directive was issued following a National Governing Council meeting, with rehearsals for the examinations scheduled to begin on Friday.
Oral and practical papers, covering subjects including French, German, Arabic, Kenyan Sign Language and music, are set to commence on October 19, while the main written examinations run from November 2 to November 20.
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Kuppet secretary general Akelo Misori delivered a stark ultimatum, saying the union would not allow its members to participate in any Knec-administered tests unless the council committed to improving examiners' terms and conditions of service.
"We are asking our members to sit back and not to participate in any exams conducted by KNEC. And if they don't give any assurances to improve the examiners' terms and conditions of service, today we put Knec on notice and it will not be business as usual in the year 2026. We shall ensure that we paralyse the examination management in the entire year 2026," Misori said.
He described the current remuneration rates as an insult to the profession, noting that unskilled construction workers earned at least KSh 700 per day, while qualified teachers carrying out examination duties were compensated at far lower rates.
KUPPET deputy secretary general Moses Nthurima provided specific figures to illustrate the union's grievances.
He said some examination papers were being marked at KSh 55 per script, while examiners received a pocket allowance of KSh 150, a figure that has remained unchanged since 1990.
Supervisors, he added, were paid KSh 600 for their duties.
"We are telling our teachers to refrain from engaging in Knec activities until they call us and discuss better terms for them," Nthurima said.
He added that the council was subjecting examiners to poor working conditions that did not reflect the demands of the role.
Examiner remuneration rates are subject to review every four years, with the next scheduled revision due in 2026.
The standoff follows an earlier payment crisis in which the National Treasury released KSh 1.5 billion on July 7 to clear outstanding balances owed to examiners for 2025.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba confirmed two days later that Knec had transferred the funds to the relevant accounts.
That payment had itself come after months of delays that prompted both teachers' unions to threaten a boycott.
Despite the July disbursement, Kuppet's latest position indicates that the union's concerns now extend beyond delayed payments to a broader dispute over the adequacy of the compensation structure itself.
2. Taifa Leo
The newspaper reported on the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) facing its first major internal test, with a growing number of aspirants accusing party leader Rigathi Gachagua and senior officials of tilting the candidate selection process in favour of preferred allies ahead of the 2027 general election.
The tension centres on whether the party will honour its commitment to free and fair primaries, a promise DCP has publicly tied to its identity since it used open member voting ahead of the Ol Kalou by-election.
In that July exercise, 23,763 members cast ballots, representing 32.6% of the 72,997 registered voters in the constituency.
The party's candidate, Sammy Kamau Ngotho, who secured 12,947 votes in the primary, went on to win the by-election with 35,440 votes against 5,450 for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.
Speaking on Inooro FM on September 22, DCP Council of Elders chairman Maina Kamanda stated plainly that certain aspirants would not receive party tickets regardless of their performance in the primaries.
"We cannot allow people who were on the side of those who attacked us to come at the last minute and defeat those who stood firm with the party and its leadership," Kamanda said, citing Kirinyaga County as a specific example of where loyalty considerations could override primary results.
Those comments have unsettled aspirants who are now demanding that the party leadership commit to a process that is transparent, fair, and guided by the will of members rather than personal loyalties.
While the internal dispute simmers, Gachagua was in Dracut, Massachusetts, in the United States, where he addressed supporters and sought to manage expectations around opposition coalition-building.
He argued that forming a united front does not require immediate action, insisting the opposition remains within a workable timeline for 2027.
"We are not behind schedule. We are within the right timeframe. A coalition can only be formed after influential leaders have consolidated their strongholds," he told the gathering.
Gachagua rejected suggestions that the opposition is fragmented or incapable of settling on a single presidential candidate, pledging that DCP would anchor the effort to present a unified challenger.
"I can assure you that the candidate we will settle on will please you. Kenyans want a winner to be found in the first round. The coalition will be important, but not right now for DCP. My party and I will commit to ensuring we get one candidate," he said.
The contrast between Gachagua's assurances abroad and the grievances building within the party at home underscores the challenge DCP faces as it attempts to position itself as a credible democratic alternative ahead of the next election cycle.
Source: TUKO.co.ke