COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has been re-elected unopposed for a fifth term in office.
Atwoli who is the incumbent was re-elected by the trade union members Friday for another five-year term in office.
The long serving COTU boss took to his twitter handle to thank Kenyan workers for their gesture and for trusting him with another term. “I promise not to betray the trust you have bestowed in me and I will continue to serve you diligently,” he said.
Atwoli has served the union since 2001 when he took over from the late Joseph Joy Mugalla. His current term is supposed to end on May 26. He was last re-elected on May 26, 2016, for another five-year term.
Atwoli had been blamed by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Secretary General Seth Panyako who wanted to challenge him in this election, for allegedly disregarding a government circular on elections to blocking affiliation requests of the five unions and in effect elbowing them from the polls.
However, Atwoli in a letter dated April 1 claimed that KNUN is not listed among unions that have completed branch and national elections, thus unqualified to participate in the polls.
By Alice Gworo
