New dockers union team takes office

Newly elected Dock Workers Union (DWU) general secretary Abubakar Abdillahi and his team took over office this week to find a full in-tray, promising to pursue irregularly withdrawn funds from the union accounts.

Abdillahi said initial investigation established that Sh82 million was withdrawn from one of the three union accounts and pledged to pursue the matter and have culprits punished.  He said his team has reported the matter to the police for action.

Speaking at the union offices, Abdillahi noted that a day after the August 13 this year’s union meeting and hours before the new team was registered by the  Registrar of Trade Unions, Sh1 million was withdrawn at 10 am. 

The union account at Bandari Sacco has been emptied, according to Abdillahi.

“Every penny stolen from the union’s three bank accounts must be accounted for. We have so far found out that Sh82 million is missing from one of the union accounts and those responsible will be held to account. We are working closely with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation to recover the members’ money,” he said.

He said the new team will commission a comprehensive audit of the union accounts from the time of the former general secretary to Mr Sulman Owour’s tenure as acting general secretary in an effort to recover the missing cash.

Assistant general secretary Mr Gideon Matiku said the new team will visit workstations at the port of Mombasa and elsewhere to seek members’ views before engaging the KPA management in a dialogue.

The new team said it would work closely with the more than 4,000 members to address stagnation in promotions and challenges relating to the medical scheme.

The new leadership said it would rejoin the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) as the labour centre. 

The union had quit Cotu during the tenure of former general secretary Mr Simon Sang after he differed with secretary general Mr Francis Atwoli.

Abdillahi, who is a former docker, pledged to fight for fair and transparent career progression and access to reliable and effective medical support by the employer, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

Speaking during the inauguration of the leadership, Abdillahi, who once served as DWU assistant general secretary, said he would focus on resolving the pending house allowance, which was not conclusively addressed in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The team also promised to streamline grading structures to ensure fairness, consistency and clear progression opportunities at KPA.

“As a union, we seek to restore the confidence of workers by keeping a close watch on the issues affecting them and ensuring that legitimate concerns are addressed through constructive engagement with management,” he stated.

Those who took office were assistant general secretary Mr Gideon Matiku, national chairman Mr Gunda Kaneno, vice chairman Mr Abdalla Randani, national treasurer Mr Idd Mchangamwe, assistant treasurer Naeel Hashil, chief shop steward Mr Justine Angore and national gender committee chairperson Ms Nuru Awath.

The team also included trustees Maskat Mohamed, Amin Iloti and Mejuma Chirau.

The new leadership was elected on August 13, 2026, after the union engaged in court battles that ended a 20-year career of general secretary Simon Sang and also cost acting general secretary Sulman Owour his job.

Mr Owour, who had been acting general secretary since Mr Sang was kicked out by the Employment and Labour Relations Court on February 26, this year, boycotted the Thursday polls, claiming the elections board was not properly constituted.

Yesterday, Abdillahi proposed the establishment of a constructive forum between the union and KPA management to ensure that issues affecting workers are discussed openly and resolved in a timely and sustainable manner.

“We further propose the establishment of a constructive forum between the union and management to ensure that issues affecting workers are discussed openly and resolved in a timely and sustainable manner. Such engagement will help create a conducive working environment and promote higher productivity,” he stated.

He said workers should be motivated to promote productivity for the benefit of both employees and KPA.

“We therefore call upon management to address the existing bottlenecks and concerns that may affect productivity, morale and industrial harmony,” he urged.

He said the union recognised the importance of smooth and efficient operations for customs inspection and related port activities to ensure that the ports effectively serve landlocked countries.

“We call upon management to embrace genuine dialogue and timely resolution of workers’ concerns. We also encourage all members to remain united, disciplined and committed to productive engagement as we pursue solutions to the issues facing the workforce,” he added.

He said the team remained committed to constructive negotiations, accountability, fairness and protection of workers’ rights to build a stronger workforce and contribute to continued growth of the port and the wider logistics sector.