Youthful leadership takes the helm of Railway Workers Union

The elections, conducted under the 2026 Trade Union Elections Circular issued by the Registrar of Trade Unions, resulted in the installation of a youthful executive team tasked with steering the union for the next five years.

Eric Kipkoech was elected as the new General Secretary, taking over the mantle from John Chumo, who served the organization for more than thirty years.

In the race for the chairmanship, Emmanuel Otieno was elected to replace Francis Olore, a long-serving leader who had been at the helm of the union for over half a century.

The new leadership team also includes Judith Nafula, who takes over as Deputy General Secretary, and Bernard Karimi, who was elected National Treasurer.

Following the announcement of the results, the new executive committee committed itself to a program of revitalization designed to modernize the union’s influence.

The leadership plans to launch an aggressive recruitment campaign targeting workers across the entire spectrum of the railway industry.

“In the next few days we shall formally write to the COTU (K) Secretary General, Bro. Francis Atwoli, seeking his support in rebuilding this union even as we pledge to continue supporting him to lead Kenyan workers for the next five years in the forthcoming COTU (K)’s elections”, noted the General Secretary in his acceptance remarks.