COTU secretary general Francis Atwoli was displeased with senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi for referring to him as a “billionaire”.
In tweet, the lawyer wondered who had gagged Atwoli who has in the recent past been active politically. Atwoli has been hosting political meetings at his Kajiado home.
“Who gagged Mzee Francis Atwoli? Is Camp David in Kajiado closed?” Ahmednasir posed.
In a quick rejoinder, the COTU boss said he can work from wherever, listing the various offices held by the workers’ union.
“I can choose to work from my office in Nakuru; Solidarity building; Khartoum; Brussels or Geneva. While I am currently busy negotiating for salaries in Nakuru you are busy swindling money from clients,” he said.
“The Kajiado meetings are on strategic political issues. I am a trade unionist.”
I can choose to work from my office in Nakuru; Solidarity building; Khartoum; Brussels or Geneva. While I am currently busy negotiating for salaries in Nakuru you are busy swindling money from clients. The Kajiado meetings are on strategic political issues. I am a trade unionist. https://t.co/RtymzjBVsX
— Francis Atwoli NOM(DZA),EBS,MBS. (@AtwoliDza) October 12, 2020
Still on his case, the flamboyant lawyer hit out at the trade unionist saying that he will one day be forced to explain the source of his billions of shillings.
“One day Atwoli will be forced to account for the billions he has…one day…one day….” he said.
But according to Atwoli he is not a billionaire but a hardworking man who shares the little he has with his friend.
“I‘m not a billionaire. I am just a hardworking man who enjoys the sweat of my work. But unlike you I am a generous man,” he said.
“I share the little that I have with friends. So please don’t confuse my generosity for being a billionaire. Kenyans know me for my work. What are you known for?”
I‘m not a billionaire. I am just a hardworking man who enjoys the sweat of my work. But unlike you I am a generous man. I share the little that I have with friends. So please don’t confuse my generosity for being a billionaire. Kenyans know me for my work. What are you known for?
— Francis Atwoli NOM(DZA),EBS,MBS. (@AtwoliDza) October 12, 2020
Speaking to a local TV station in 2019, the trade unionist said he owned 15 ordinary cows in Khwisero and another 11 in Maasai land; a Mercedes Benz and Prado.
In 2017, he made headlines when he demanded politician Cyrus Jirongo pays back Sh100 million he owed him. Apparently, Jirongo had borrowed Sh100 million from Atwoli with a promise to pay back in 50 days plus a sh10 million interest.
Atwoli has been leading a Western Kenya delegation in support of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda and the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
