The Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya), COTU (K) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has hit out at some of the media houses for allegedly misreporting to please certain individuals.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Atwoli denied reports that seven petitions has been filed to challenge his re-election as COTU’s Secretary General, in an election held on 14th March, 2026 at the Tom Mboya Labour College, in Kisumu.

He clarified that only three petitions have been filed in different courts in Nairobi and Kerugoya, by individuals he claimed were not members of COTU or any other trade union.

“COTU, has taken note, with great concern, of continued attempts by some media houses to misrepresent, misreport, and perpetuate falsehoods, through the influence of certain busybodies, with criminal-like backgrounds, who are able to compromise some journalists to misrepresent facts,” Atwoli said.

“We, therefore, strongly condemn the reporting by some media houses, which have falsely alleged that there are seven (7) cases filed against COTU,” he added.

The COTU SG further urged Kenyans and members of COTU to disregard the inaccurate information, and the petitions he described as “baseless”.

“We wish to call upon Kenyan workers who are members of COTU (K) not to be disturbed by the propaganda being spread through the influence of these known hardcore criminals, as these petitions will not stop COTU (K) from serving the interests of our members,” said Atwoli.

Francis Atwoli further criticized some media outlets for misreporting on the court rulings, saying they had wrongly portrayed the outcomes as a “reprieve” for Central Organization of Trade Unions.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court on Wednesday refused to grant orders sought against the registration of COTU (K) elected officials. The High Court in Kerugoya also declined to grant similar orders and instead found that it lacked jurisdiction, consequently transferring the matter to Nairobi.