Atwoli Suffers Major Setback After Court Ruling

Central Organization of Trade Unions’ (COTU) Francis Atwoli was dealt a blow on Monday after the court quashed a decision to name a road after him.

In his ruling, Justice Anthony Mrima noted that public participation was not carried out prior to renaming the road after the fiery trade unionist.

He further pointed out that Nairobi County erred by making the decision before carrying out due diligence in the County Assembly.

“Such processes would have been carried out in parliament or in the county assembly of the Nairobi city county,” ruled Mrima.

In 2021, the Nairobi County honoured COTU secretary general Francis Atwoli by renaming the Dik Dik Road in the upmarket of Kileleshwa after him.

At the time, Atwoli expressed gratitude to the county for the feat.

“I want to thank the leadership of Nairobi County, under Ann Kananu, for this great honour and recognition of services to the Government of the day, the community and workers at large,” he stated.

“We will continue offering our unwavering support to the leadership of the County.”

Soon after, a storm erupted both online and off with city residents opposed to the county’s decision to rename the road after the trade unionist. They decried at the time that it had not followed proper procedure.

Shortly after, Dik Dik Gardens Residents Association filed a suit asking the court to overturn the renaming of the road.

They argued that the County, which was led by Kananu at the time, had failed to consult locals before making the changes.

The went on to contend that since they were maintaining the road, they deserved to be included in a decision seeking to rename it.

The county now has the opportunity to appeal the ruling or conduct the public participation exercise.