The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has issued an interim conservatory order stopping the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) from recruiting, interviewing, or deploying new teachers to replace those currently serving on contract terms in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, and Lamu counties.
The orders, issued by Lady Justice Jemimah Wanza Keli, come barely three days after a tragic security incident in Garissa, where a teacher from Mwingi West who was working in the county, alongside a local chief, were killed in an attack suspected to have been carried out by Al Shabaab militants.
The court suspended the recruitment process advertised by the TSC under the notice titled “Recruitment of Teachers to Fill 2,082 Attrition Vacancies in Senior Schools – November 2025.”
Justice Keli restrained the TSC, its agents, or officers from shortlisting, interviewing, recruiting, or deploying new teachers to positions currently held by the petitioners, pending the hearing and determination of the application.
The matter was certified as urgent, with the court directing that the application be served within seven days. An inter partes hearing is scheduled for 9th February 2026.
Reacting to the ruling, lawyer Charles Mwalimu, representing the affected teachers, said the decision offers crucial protection to local educators who continue to serve in high-risk and hardship areas.
“Our people who have been working as teachers on contract in North Eastern Kenya were facing imminent replacement. The court has now halted that process, and we will continue fighting for the rights and safety of our local teachers,” Mwalimu told Channel 15 News.
Justice Keli warned that any disobedience of the court order would attract penal consequences.
