COTU-K Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has won a legal challenge to his re-election after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
Justice Jemimah Keli struck out a petition filed by Fazul Mahamed and the Institute for Democratic Governance, which had questioned the validity of Atwoli’s election to another term.
The petitioners had challenged the March 14, 2026 election, in which Atwoli was returned unopposed for a sixth term as secretary-general of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions of Kenya.
They argued that the election had been held before COTU-K’s affiliated trade unions had completed their own elections.
Their case relied on Section 34 of the Labour Relations Act. They said the law required trade union elections to follow a set sequence, beginning with branch elections, followed by national polls and, later, the election of COTU officials.
The petitioners also pointed to a timetable issued by the Registrar of Trade Unions in September 2025.
Under that schedule, branch elections were to run from January 5 to March 31, 2026. National elections were to follow between April 1 and June 30, with COTU elections expected by August 30.
They argued that COTU had moved ahead of that timetable by holding its election in March.
They further said COTU delegates could not legitimately elect national officials until they had themselves been chosen through the prescribed process.
But Justice Keli did not rule on whether the election timetable had been breached.
Instead, she found that the petitioners had failed to show the employment or labour relationship required for the court to take up the dispute.
“Having taken time to consider this dispute, I found that the petitioners were neither members of trade unions nor having any interest at all in terms of labor relations with the respondents,” Justice Keli said.
The judge said the dispute involved the registration and election of trade union officials, including the secretary-general.
She added that the legal provisions cited by the petitioners had to be considered within the wider framework governing trade union elections.
The court held that its jurisdiction covers disputes arising from employment and labor relations, including cases involving employees who belong to trade unions.
Justice Keli noted that members of unions affiliated with COTU-K could have an employment relationship that might provide grounds for challenging the election of COTU officials.
The petitioners, she said, had not demonstrated a similar relationship with the respondents.
“The Court holds it has no jurisdiction to determine the petition; it’s hereby struck out,” the judge ruled.
Atwoli was elected unopposed at COTU-K’s 15th Quadrennial Governing Council Delegates Conference at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on March 14.
The ruling means the court did not determine the petitioners’ central claims about the timing or validity of the election.
Atwoli, one of Kenya’s longest-serving trade union leaders, will therefore remain at the helm of the umbrella organisation representing the country’s trade unions.
About the Author
