Francis Atwoli Wants Government Compelled to Appoint Him as NSSF Board Member

The Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli is intending to have government compelled to appoint him to a state job.

Atwoli moved to court intending to obtain orders to have Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani compelled to appoint and gazette him as a member of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) board.

He has accused the CS of repeatedly overlooking and failing to appoint and gazette him to the NSSF Board as a trustee.

In his application presented before a Nairobi court, Atwoli stated that the CS had no power that allows him to deliberately fail, refuse and neglect to appoint him officially as the NSSF trustee. He accused the state of malice.

"‘The purported failure to re-appoint and gazette the nominee of the Ex-Parte Applicant is riddled with illegality laced with malice and bad faith and is tailored to achieve an unlawful and illegal state of affairs which is wholly incompatible with the provisions of the NSSF Act, 2013 and the Constitution of Kenya 2010,” the application by Atwoli reads in part.

He has also asked the Employment and Labour Court not allow but invalidate any meetings that will be convened by the Cabinet Secretary and NSSF before he is included as a member.

According to Atwoli, the NSSF board as currently constituted without the COTU representations remains unlawful and highly prejudicial since the union is one of the largest contributors to the fund through its members.

The court ratified the case as requiring urgency, slotting it for hearing on Monday, October 22, 2018, even as the battle for the slot narrows down to the validity of any procedures and decisions made by the board.

On August 13, 2018, NSSF Chairman Rajab Mwondu wrote a letter to the Ministry drawing his attention to the need to re-appoint Atwoli as COTU’s nominee to the NSSF Board.

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