The Centre for Public Policy and Research (CPPR) has moved to the Kerugoya High Court to challenge the re-election of Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General, Francis Atwoli.

The case will be before Justice Edward Mureithi, but has not yet been given a hearing date after it was filed last Monday.

Court documents show a judicial review application against Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary, the Registrar of trade unions, Cotu and the Attorney-General. 

Atwoli was re-elected unopposed as the secretary-general of the union for a sixth consecutive term. 

The organisation seeks urgent intervention in overturning the re-election of Atwoli.

The application challenges the legality and validity of the election conducted on March 14, during the Quinquennial Governing Council Delegates Conference held at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.

CPPR claims that the elections were conducted in violation of the statutory electoral framework governing trade union elections in Kenya and in disregard of the timelines prescribed by the registrar of trade unions.

The applicant said trade union elections start at the branch level, where members elect their officials.

It says the elected officials serve as delegates to the union’s national elections and participate in electing Cotu leaders, with the whole system designed to ensure that the federation leadership flows directly from the democratic choices of grassroots members.

The application read that on September 25, 2025, a circular was issued setting the 2026 trade unions election cycle.

Branch elections were to run from January 5 to March 31, national elections were scheduled between April 1 and June 30, and Cotu polls were to be concluded by August 30.

“Those timelines are not suggestions; they form a mandatory framework designed to protect democratic participation and ensure orderly succession across the trade union movement,” the registrar’s communication stated.

Cotu conducted its elections and announced officials on March  14 prematurely, before its affiliate unions held their branch and national elections, not considering the timelines given.

The application lists Atwoli, alongside Trade Union Congress, Kenya National Union of Teachers, Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education, and Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union.

The petitioner wants the court’s intervention to safeguard fair elections, democracy, transparency and accountability in decision-making.

“Article 19 guarantees that every person is entitled to enjoy and exercise the rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

For trade unions, this is inseparable from the freedoms of association, assembly and expression — the very freedom that enables workers to organise, engage in union activities and elect their leaders.

“When members are denied the opportunity to vote, to contest for leadership or to participate meaningfully in union elections, those constitutional rights are not merely diminished; they are violated,” the application stated.