By SHABAN MAKOKHA
July 06, 2026| For decades, they have stood before crowded classrooms, their voices competing with the afternoon rain pounding rusty iron-sheet roofs and the chatter of restless learners.
They have marked examination scripts deep into the night, counselled broken children, sacrificed weekends for remedial classes and celebrated quietly as the boys and girls they nurtured became doctors, lawyers, engineers, governors, judges and even Members of Parliament.
Yet when election season comes, teachers often find themselves cheering from the sidelines, trusted enough to mould leaders but rarely considered worthy of becoming leaders themselves.
It is this feeling of neglect that dominated an emotionally charged meeting of teachers at Buchenya ground in Butere, where Kakamega County County Secretary, Lawrence Omuhaka, sought to convince educators that 2027 should be different.
This time, he said, the chalk should lead to Parliament.
“This is not just about Lawrence Omuhaka,” he told the gathering. “It is about restoring the dignity of the teaching profession. I know the struggles of teachers because I have lived them. I know what it means to stand in front of a class with limited resources but unlimited hope.”
His words found receptive ears. Many teachers nodded as he spoke—not merely because he is seeking political office, but because they saw one of their own.
Butere KNUT Secretary Albert Fungani captured the mood in a few powerful words.
“It is time a teacher represented the people of Butere in Parliament. We have produced leaders for this country for generations. Why shouldn’t one of us occupy that seat?” he questioned. “In Omuhaka, we have a teacher, an educationist and a scholar with a doctorate.”
For Omuhaka, the journey to that podium did not begin in politics.
It began in a classroom.
He recalled the formative stages of his secondary education in Butula Boys High School before joining the renowned Mukumu Boys High School for Form Five. In 1994, he said, he was among the only two students in Kenya to score ten points in the then Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education examinations.
The achievement became a passport to greater opportunities.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in History and Kiswahili from the University of Nairobi, later pursued a Diploma in Music at Highridge Teachers College, followed by a Master’s degree in Business Administration and ultimately a PhD in Business Administration specialising in Human Resource Management.
But it is not the academic titles that seem to define him.
It is where he started. He remembers teaching at Mahondo before moving to Shiatsala Secondary School, where poor examination results had earned the school an unenviable reputation.
Resources were scarce. Teachers were stretched.
He found himself teaching Mathematics, Kiswahili, History and Music—doing whatever was necessary to keep learning alive.
Later, he joined Booker Academy as a Music teacher before venturing into human resource management and served as chairman at Sukari Sacco.
He served in Kakamega County Government, where he rose through the ranks to become the County Secretary, the third in command at the County Executive level.
He also recalled serving in the national government after being appointed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta as an Assistant Minister.
Despite the titles and offices, Omuhaka insists he never stopped being a teacher at heart.
Omuhaka urged teachers to become ambassadors of change ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that Butere deserves leadership anchored on integrity, education and accountability.
Perhaps that explains why education remains the heartbeat of his philanthropy.
Through the Omuhaka Foundation, he says thirty university students from Butere are pursuing higher education with financial support from the foundation.
Widows who once slept in leaking houses now have decent homes.
Schools have been fenced to improve security. And he is promising to put up modern classrooms that will offer conducive learning environment to students, if he becomes the MP.
Sports teams that struggled for uniforms have received new kits and balls, while students from Butere East and Butere West recently benefited from the donation of twenty pieces of mattresses.
To Omuhaka, those are not campaign promises. They are evidence of what leadership should look like.
Without mentioning the incumbent Member of Parliament by name, he called for fresh leadership, arguing that prolonged stays in office often weaken accountability.
He alleged that excessive kickbacks demanded from contractors have affected the quality of development projects, saying the people of Butere deserve leaders whose first loyalty is to the public
The meeting became something deeper.
It became a conversation about recognition.
As the teachers left the venue in small groups, some discussing politics, others reflecting on Omuhaka’s journey from classroom teacher to county executive, one thought lingered in the air.
Perhaps the greatest lesson teachers can teach their students is not written on a blackboard.
Perhaps it is that no dream is too ambitious—not even the journey from the front of a classroom to the floor of Parliament.
And perhaps, Butere’s next lesson in leadership will be taught by a teacher.
Mr Omuhaka’s meeting with teachers signals the beginning of what is expected to be a fiercely contested race for the Butere parliamentary seat, with education emerging as one of the central themes of the campaign.