Stop Intimidating Striking Teachers- LoP Ssenyonyi Warns Govt

The Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, has urged government officials to stop threatening to arrest humanities teachers who are currently staging a sit-down strike.

Teachers of humanities in parts of the country have downed tools over what they say is salary discrepancies.

This month, members of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) declared an indefinite strike, saying they will not return to classrooms until the government addresses their long-standing demands for better pay and welfare.

The union announced the strike last Friday, following meetings of its National Executive Council on September 10, 2025, and branch chairpersons on 11 September 2025.

The action began on the official opening day of the third term.

However, reports have indicated that some government officials, including Resident District Commissioners in some districts, have threatened legal action against teachers participating in the strike.

During Tuesday’s parliamentary plenary, Ssenyonyi raised the issue, calling such threats unacceptable.

"I saw today, the acting RDC of Kumi, a one James Kyomya. He has threatened to arrest all the teachers in Kumi who are on strike. That is unacceptable. Completely unacceptable,” he said.

He added, “Government, you normally say, you teachers be patriotic, go and teach. Well you be patriotic first by fulfilling the commitments you made to these teachers. It is an alarming issue. Government needs to tell us what are they doing about that right now. Thank you.”

The striking teachers are appealing to the government to address the economic challenges they face and to ensure equal pay for all educators across the country.

The dispute dates back to 2022, when the government increased salaries for science teachers but left arts teachers out, leading to repeated clashes between UNATU and the Ministry of Public Service.