Faith Odhiambo: 10 TSC letters per MP at State House breaches Article 237
Key points
- Former LSK president Faith Odhiambo said National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula admitted taking MPs to State House where the President hands each 10 TSC employment letters, later sold for up to Sh400,000.
- She called that a breach of Article 237, which gives TSC exclusive merit recruitment.
- Education Committee chair Julius Melly (Tinderet) asked for written complaints and said his committee will not condone sale or distribution of TSC letters.
- Odhiambo cited TSC data: a 96,000–116,000 national deficit, Junior Secondary short at least 72,000, and more than 300,000 trained teachers registered but unemployed. Melly also restated a 116,000-hire pledge from 2022.
“The Speaker of the National Assembly admitted that he takes MPs to State House where the President hands them 10 TSC employment letters each, letters that are then sold for up to Sh400,000 apiece.” Former Law Society of Kenya president Faith Odhiambo said that on Tuesday 25 August 2026, Eastleigh Voice reported, and tied it to Article 237.
That article, she said, gives the Teachers Service Commission the exclusive job of recruiting and appointing teachers on merit. “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.” She said graduates who interned, sat exams and waited years are being skipped. On the numbers she quoted TSC: a national deficit of about 96,000–116,000 posts, Junior Secondary short at least 72,000, and more than 300,000 trained teachers on the register without a job. Education Committee chair Julius Melly, speaking to NTV, said his committee will not condone sale or distribution of letters by an MP or anyone else, and asked Kenyans to file write-ups: without paper, “it is now going to be a difficult thing to take it up.” KUPPET deputy secretary-general Moses Nthurima also criticised letters moving through politicians. Melly separately defended subject-targeted hiring, the 2022 pledge to recruit 116,000 teachers, and internships: after two years, he said, confirmation should be automatic without a fresh application. A Speaker clip is not a TSC circular. The Sh400,000 figure is an alleged ask in Wetang’ula’s telling, not a proved invoice in this file. Melly’s “bring evidence” line is the procedural next step.
Ten letters is not a TSC gazette
If State House really issues appointment letters, TSC should say whether those serials exist in its system. Parliament’s inquiry starts with named complaints, Melly said.
Education desk: Education. Verified Odhiambo quotes, Article 237, 10 letters/Sh400,000 claim and Melly’s evidence call from Eastleigh Voice.
TSC should confirm or deny the State House channel. The Education Committee should publish where to lodge the write-ups.
Jobseekers should keep TSC online applications; do not pay Sh400,000 for a “letter.”
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Official gazettes, court rulings and agency circulars may update these facts after publication; readers should verify any deadline, fee or court date against primary sources before acting.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Odhiambo’s 25 August remarks and Melly’s NTV interview. The Speaker’s full transcript was not attached.
