Teachers have increasingly transitioned into politics after leaving the profession in Kenya to shape the nation through their assertions of leadership and communication skills.
Here is a list of former teachers who are prominently featured in the political space:
Aden Duale
After graduating with a Bachelor of Education Degree from Moi University, Duale started his career as a graduate teacher at Sankuri Secondary School in Balambala, Garissa County.
Reports indicate that Duale taught for about two years before venturing into other engagements. He later joined the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT), where he pursued a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
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In 2007, he made his political debut and successfully contested the Dujis parliamentary seat. In 2022, he was appointed Assistant Minister of Livestock in the grand coalition government.
Following the review of electoral boundaries, Duale successfully contested the Garissa township parliamentary seat in 2013, 2017, and 2022.
He, however, resigned in October 2022 after being appointed Cabinet Secretary for Defence, a position he held until July 2024, when President William Ruto dismissed his entire Cabinet.
He was later appointed CS for Environment and Climate Change, a position he holds.
Duale is a close ally of the president and played a critical role in the run-up to the 2022 general election. He always uses his social media platforms to defend the president and the government's policies.
Mutahi Kahiga
The Nyeri Governor is known as Mwalimu, a Swahili word for teacher.
Before joining politics, Governor Kahiga was a primary school teacher and a trade unionist. He taught for over 30 years in different schools across the country.
His teaching career started in 1980 in Baringo. In 2011, armed with over 30 years of experience, he was elected as the executive secretary of the Kenya National Union of Teachers. In 2016, he sought to defend the seat and was re-elected unopposed.
In 2017, he joined politics as the 2017 running mate to the late Wahome Gakuru, who passed away in a tragic road accident. Following Wahome's demise, Kahiga took over as governor, a position he defended during the 2022 general election.
Kahiga is a close ally and a vocal defender of impeached former Deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
Rosa Buyu
The vocal Kisumu West legislator and one of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's fiercest defenders started as a teacher at Pangani Girls High School in Nairobi, Kenya.
She was then later appointed to the National Cereal Board in 2008, after which she held other roles at the Public Service Commission (PSC), including being part of the team that selected contributing as a member of the electoral body selection panel in 2011.
In 2013, she unsuccessfully contested the Kisumu West Constituency parliamentary seat but did not give up. She restrategised and successfully contested for the Kisumu Woman Representative seat in 2017.
In the 2022 General Election, Buyu vied for the Kisumu West constituency seat and edged out Olago Aluoch, who had served for three terms.
Omboko Milemba
He is the current Member of Parliament for Emuhaya Constituency and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) chairperson.
Before joining politics, he taught at Moi Girls High School Vokoli and Nyangori Boys Secondary School.
Milemba joined the trade union movement in 2022 when he was elected as the KUPPET Chairperson for the Vihiga branch.
In 2013, he contested and secured the Emuhaya parliamentary seat, a position he defended in the 2022 general election.
He is one of the vocal leaders from Western Kenya and a close associate of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
Wilson Sossion
Sossion's teaching career commenced in 1993 at Tenuek High School in Bomet, after he graduated with an Education Degree from Egerton University.
After 8 years of teaching, Sossion was elected to KNUT and ascended to Secretary General, where he was a fierce defender of teachers' rights.
Following this experience, he vied for a role within the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) in 2000, eventually securing victory in his second attempt in 2001. Sossion contributed in various capacities within the union, including a stint as the secretary general, a position later assumed by Collins Oyuu.
In 2017, Sossion was nominated to the National Assembly by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), a position he held until August 2022.
He unsuccessfully vied for the Bomet senatorial seat in 2022 but has since become a vocal defender of President Ruto's administration.
Other former teachers who transitioned to politics include Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, HomaBay Woman Rep Joyce Ochongo, Eldas MP Adan Keynany, and Siaya Woman Rep Christine Ombaka.
