Francis Atwoli has retained his position as Secretary-General of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU-K) after a court declined to entertain a petition seeking to overturn his election.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the petitioners, Fazul Mahamed and the Institute for Democratic Governance, who brought the case had not demonstrated the necessary connection to an employment or labour relations dispute.
Justice Jemimah Keli stated that the petitioners, had not shown that they were members of trade unions or had a labour-related interest in the matter.
The court consequently found that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the dispute and struck out the petition.
“The Court holds it has no jurisdiction to determine the petition; it’s hereby struck out,” Justice Keli ruled.
The decision means the court did not examine the central allegation that Atwoli’s election was conducted outside the prescribed trade union electoral timetable.
The petitioners had questioned the March 14, 2026 COTU-K elections, arguing that the umbrella union moved to elect its officials before affiliated unions had completed their own elections.
They cited Section 34 of the Labour Relations Act and an election timetable issued by the Registrar of Trade Unions in September 2025.
Under the timetable, branch elections were scheduled for January 5 to March 31, 2026, followed by national elections from April 1 to June 30. COTU elections were expected to be held by August 30.
The petitioners argued that delegates who participated in the COTU election should first have been selected through the affiliate unions’ electoral process.
Justice Keli, however, did not make a finding on whether COTU-K violated the law or whether the March election was held prematurely.
Instead, she held that the nature of the petition did not fall within the court’s jurisdiction because the petitioners had failed to establish the requisite labour relationship with the respondents.
Atwoli was elected unopposed at the union’s 15th Quinquennial Governing Council Delegates Conference held at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on March 14, securing a sixth term as COTU-K Secretary-General.
