The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli has broken his silence after an X user inquired about his retirement from the body he has held for 23 years.
In a statement on Friday, December 6, 2024, Atwoli rebutted the calls for his retirement, noting that it takes one to join a trade union to understand his role in championing the interests of members.
“Uliza tu hiyo swali hiyo kitu ikutoke… I am here servicing the interests of trade union members. I am not appointed; I am elected by members. If you join a union, you will understand my role and that of COTU (K),” Atwoli said.
Atwoli, a career trade unionist, was born in Kakamega and studied at the St Mary’s School school in Nairobi before receiving a prestigious scholarship to study at the College of International Labour Studies in Italy, where his interest in unions was nurtured.
Leader from ’70s
As early as the 1970s, Atwoli was making waves when he became the branch secretary of the Union of Posts and Telecommunications Employees.
However, his career took an international trajectory when he was elected Secretary-General of the powerful COTU in 2001, a position he has been elected to for five consecutive terms.
The latest election was held at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu, where hundreds of affiliate COTU union general secretaries were physically present, and at least 200 others attended virtually.
In his acceptance speech, the Secretary General of COTU (K) Francis Atwoli thanked the delegates and the Kenyan workers at large for trusting him with another mandate. He promised never to betray the trust that all workers have bestowed on him over the past years.
Atwoli’s other roles
Atwoli currently serves as the General Secretary of the Kenya Plantation & Agricultural Workers Union, President of the Pan African Labour movement and member of the Social Health Authority (SHA) board.
He is also the Chairman of the East Africa Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) in Tanzania and Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC in Brussels, Belgium.
In 2014, then Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi kicked out Atwoli from the board of the National Social Social Security Fund (NSSF), a position he had then served in for 15 years.
In April 2024, Migori Senator Eddy Oketch introduced a bill which seeks to cap the tenure of leaders of unions at two terms. The bill was vehemently opposed by Atwoli, who said that the unions were like political parties and that their leaders were not subject to term limits.
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