The Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya), COTU (K), secretary general Francis Atwoli on Sunday June 8, 2025 condemned former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks on alleged misuse of workers funds at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
In a statement on Sunday, Atwoli termed Gachagua’s remarks as reckless, false, and irresponsible.
“Mr. Gachagua’s claim that NSSF funds are being misappropriated through investments in roads and construction of public infrastructure is not only a distortion of the facts, but also a dangerous attempt to politicize a critical institution that safeguards the future of millions of Kenyan workers.
“We wish to remind Mr. Gachagua that social security is a serious matter and not a political playground. It is, therefore, very reckless and outrightly malicious for Mr. Gachagua to call upon Kenyan workers to withdraw their funds with the aim of collapsing NSSF,” stated Atwoli.
In addition, the COTU boss noted that Gachagua’s utterances border on economic sabotage, and urged the Government to consider taking appropriate legal action against him.
Atwoli reminded Gachagua that it has taken years of hard work to grow NSSF’s portfolio from Ksh. 26 billion to over a trillion shillings.
According to COTU, Gachagua has no moral ground to advise Kenyans, or any government institution, on investment.
“Moreover, and for the record, the Secretary General of COTU (K), Dr. Francis Atwoli, is no longer a board member of NSSF, taking in mind that his term expired in 2021 and he was lawfully replaced,” read part of COTU statement.
However,the COTU boss emphasized that NSSF operates strictly under investment guidelines as approved by the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) and that all investments undertaken by NSSF are managed by licensed investment managers and must comply with strict statutory requirements.
Meanwhile, COTU (K) called upon the leadership and Board of Trustees of NSSF to publicly address the audit queries raised by the Auditor General concerning the Financial Year ending June 2024, in which the fund has been asked to account for over Ksh.16 billion.
