COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has accepted President-elect William Ruto as the next Head of State following the approval of his victory.

The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed that Ruto was fairly declared the winner of the August 9 presidential contest, following attempts by several petitioners to force for a rerun.

Atwoli has said that he embraces the verdict and has proceeded to congratulate and thank the Deputy President on his win.

Atwoli’s statement to workers

He has also directed all the workers under his leadership to follow suit, asking them to maintain peace and help in maintaining order in the country as it goes through another transition season.

The controversial trade unionist has said that this is in line with an agreement made by the COTU executive board, where it was concluded that the union must accept the outcome of the petition.

“During COTU-K Executive Board meeting on August 17, we resolved that immediately after the Supreme Court judgement, we must thank and congratulate the victor. Consequently, we congratulate President William Ruto. We appeal to workers and Kenyans, in general, to remain peaceful,” he has said.

This came as a humbling moment for Atwoli, who had earlier appeared too sure that Ruto won’t be President. Earlier, actually, he had claimed that his name won’t even appear in the ballot.

He had also made it a habit to bash Ruto, and was among those who were campaigning for the DP’s main rival in the race Raila Odinga of the Azimio La Umoja coalition.

Ruto was first declared President-elect on August 15, by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, a declaration Raila rejected, citing rigging and vote manipulation, before moving to court to seek an annulment.