Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) secretary general Francis Atwoli has refuted claims made by Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetangula that the trade unionist is trying to impose a spokesperson on the Luhya community.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Standard Newspaper on Wednesday, Atwoli said his pursuit for a Luhya Spokesperson is in the best interest of the entire community.
"I have read with consternation reports attributed to Ford Kenya Party Leader who is also the Senate Minority Leader Senator Moses Wetangula that I am trying to impose a leader on the Luhya community without any mandate nor consultations from the community's political leadership and members," Atwoli said.
He further downplayed allegations that he was pursuing the matter alone without involving relevant stakeholders and the Luhya community opinion shapers.
"For the records, I have never been alone in this initiative since in 2012 I flew Senator Moses Wetangula, Cyrus Jirongo and Musalia Mudavadi to the Maasai Mara where we held intensive consultations on how the community could identify one leader among them as its spokesperson," he noted.
The ceremony to crown the community's spokesperson is scheduled for 31st December 2016 at the historic Muliro Gardens.