Court Revokes Renaming of Kileleshwa Road After Francis Atwoli
Justice Anthony Mrima further pointed out that Nairobi County blundered by making the decision without involving the County Assembly.
Marvin Chege 
Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has suffered a big blow after the High Court in Nairobi quashed a decision to name a road in Kileleshwa, Nairobi after him.
The court ruled on Monday that there was no public participation in the decision to rename Dik Dik Road in Kileleshwa after the fiery trade unionist.
Justice Anthony Mrima further pointed out that Nairobi County blundered by making the decision without involving the County Assembly.
“Such a decision called for public engagement prior to being made. Such processes would have been carried out in parliament or in the county assembly of the Nairobi city county,” ruled Mrima.
A road named after COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli unveiled on May 27, 2021. /FACEBOOK
The judge further noted that having decided to rename the road, the least the county government would have done was to call for a form of stakeholders’ engagement, as required by the constitution.
Having so acted, the Respondents were in clear derogation of the constitutional principle of public participation as enshrined in Articles 10(2), 174 and 232(1)(d) and (h) of the Constitution.
Justice Mrima further determined that Atwoli should also have ensured that the decision was within the constitution and the law after he was informed of the decision to name the public road after him.
“Therefore, the decision to rename the Dik Dik Road to Francis Atwoli Road by the Respondents is hereby quashed,” Justice Mrima ruled.
In 2021, Nairobi County honoured Atwoli by renaming the Dik Dik Road in the upmarket of Kileleshwa after him.
"I want to thank the leadership of Nairobi County, under Ann Kananu, for this great honour and recognition of services to the Government of the day, the community and workers at large," he stated.
"We will continue offering our unwavering support to the leadership of the County."
However, the move sparked a public uproar and triggered resistance by city residents opposed to the county government renaming the road after the trade unionist. So heated was the reaction that the signpost leading to the road was vandalised on multiple occasions.
The case was filed in court by the Dik Dik Gardens Residents Association, which argued that the county did not consult them when they decided to uproot the road signpost bearing the name ‘Dik Dik Road’ and replace it with Francis Atwoli Road.
During the hearing, they contended that the decision affects the residents of the estate who put up the road and have been maintaining the same over time. They denied that the road was being maintained by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA).
Following the ruling, the county has the choice to either appeal it or carry out the public participation exercise.
