TSC halts Kewota deductions as offices broken into in night raid
Crime and Justice
By
David Odongo
| Apr 16, 2026
Teachers Service Commission (TSC) yesterday stopped all payroll deductions to the Kenya Women Teachers Association (Kewota).
This follows a dramatic expose by The Standard and KTN of a scandal allegedly siphoning off the salaries of 95,000 unsuspecting teachers.
It emerged that the decision had been made long before KTN and The Standard aired and published the explosive investigative story over the weekend.
On Wednesday, TSC held an emergency meeting, which The Standard established was merely a formality to adopt the resolution and affix the commission’s official stamp.
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“There was no debate today, the political heat was unbearable. The meeting was just to write what had already been decided in the court of public opinion.”
Yesterday, a group of female teachers filed a petition before the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kakamega, seeking to stop the mandatory deduction of Sh200 per month from their salaries.
The teachers want the court to compel TSC to immediately halt the check-off facility and order Kewota to refund millions of shillings allegedly deducted from their payslips since January 2019.
In a related development, law firm Apollo & Co Advocates has issued a demand letter to the Principal Sec retary for Public Service and the acting TSC chief executive officer, giving them three days to disclose the total number of female teachers affected and the cumulative amount deducted.
The lawyers argue that the deductions, made under check-off number “584”, were imposed without public participation or individual teacher consent, violating constitutional rights to fair administrative action, property, and fair labour practices.
The letter warns of legal action if the information is not provided within the deadline.
Also, on Tuesday night, the Kewota head office located in Nairobi’s Hurlingham was allegedly broken into, with an unknown number of computers and servers containing critical financial data reportedly stolen from the premises.
Security analyst Tom Andati alleged foul play: “That is a classic way to erase digital footprints, to hide and tamper with evidence before forensic auditors can descend on the premises, and the police should have by now acted to seal that office and impound every remaining machine.”
Andati added: “You do not wait for a break-in to be reported hours after the government stops your funding. Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations must move with the speed or we risk losing the digital bread crumbs that lead straight to the bank and the bribed officials.”
TSC distanced itself from the scandal, in statement saying: “The Commission has noted with serious concern the publications aired by KTN on Sunday, April 12, 2026, and those appearing in The Standard on Monday, April 13, 2026, regarding alleged payroll deductions from teachers in favour of Kewota,” the statement read in part.
“The Commission recognises the gravity of the issues raised and the allegations contained in these reports. In light of this, an internal inquiry has been initiated to establish the facts surrounding the matter. ”
Beatrice Omondi, a school teacher from Siaya county has been contributing to Kewota for four years under the impression that her money was empowering women in the profession. She lamented how the monthly deduction has become a source of deep anguish after learning the rot.