- Long-serving trade unionist Albert Njeru Obed has died after a short illness, dealing a blow to Kenya’s labour movement.
- Njeru was serving as COTU-K Treasurer General while leading KUDHEIHA as Secretary General.
- He had spent about 19 years at the helm of the union representing workers across education, hospitality, health and other sectors.
Central Organisation of Trade Unions-Kenya (COTU-K) Treasurer General Albert Njeru Obed has died following a short illness.
Njeru, who was also Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA), died on Saturday, August 29, 2026.
COTU-K Secretary General Francis Atwoli announced his death, describing the veteran unionist as a dedicated defender of workers’ welfare and dignity.
Atwoli said Njeru’s death was a major loss not only to COTU-K and KUDHEIHA, but also to the wider trade union movement in Kenya and beyond.
“I have lost a brother, a loyal friend and a distinguished champion of workers’ rights,” Atwoli said.
He extended his condolences to Njeru’s family, friends, colleagues and members of the labour movement.
Nearly two decades at KUDHEIHA
Njeru had served as KUDHEIHA Secretary General for about 19 years, making him one of the long-serving figures in Kenya’s trade union movement. He had served as COTU-K Treasurer General for about five months at the time of his death.
KUDHEIHA represents workers in several sectors, including educational institutions, hospitals, hotels, domestic employment and allied establishments.
Njeru’s association with the wider COTU-K leadership also stretched back years before his appointment as Treasurer General. Earlier COTU records identify him as a member of the organisation’s board while serving as KUDHEIHA General Secretary.
His work regularly placed him at the centre of labour relations, collective representation and disputes involving employees and institutions.
Court records, for example, show Njeru acting in his capacity as KUDHEIHA Secretary General in employment and labour relations matters. In a 2024 case involving the University of Embu and KUDHEIHA workers, an affidavit supporting the union’s application was sworn by Njeru as the union’s Secretary General.
Champion of workers’ interests
Njeru’s leadership also involved engagement with employers on workplace relations and changing employment conditions.
At a KUDHEIHA and Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers human resource conference, Njeru emphasised harmonious industrial relations and called for teamwork between employers and workers in addressing challenges within workplaces.
He also urged unions and employers to adapt to increasingly diverse generations in the workplace and improve communication in finding solutions to emerging labour challenges.
His leadership of KUDHEIHA continued until his death. Reports indicate that he retained the Secretary General position following union elections held in Kisumu in May 2026.
His death therefore removes from Kenya’s labour movement a unionist whose career encompassed workers’ representation, industrial relations, employment disputes and national trade union leadership.
Atwoli described Njeru as a steadfast trade unionist whose commitment to workers remained unwavering throughout his service.
Njeru’s death comes at a time when trade unions continue to engage government and employers over wages, employment conditions, social protection and workers’ rights.
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His influence extended to universities as well. As recently as 2025 and 2026, Njeru was directly involved in cases concerning KUDHEIHA members at Moi University, including disputes arising from redundancies affecting university employees. In one of the cases, the union stated that it represented affected employees under an existing collective bargaining agreement with the university.
For many years, KUDHEIHA therefore occupied an important position in the representation of support and non-teaching workers across educational institutions. That landscape later became more contested as other unions emerged seeking to organise particular categories of workers. Notably, a 2017 Employment and Labour Relations Court decision ordered the registration of the Kenya Union of Secondary Schools Non-Teaching Staff, after finding that there was a substantial representation gap among non-teaching staff in secondary schools and rejecting arguments that another union would necessarily cause harmful rivalry.
The emergence of more specialised unions increasingly contested a space in which KUDHEIHA had long been influential. Njeru himself remained involved in disputes over union representation and jurisdiction, defending KUDHEIHA’s claim to represent workers within sectors covered by the union.
His death consequently has particular significance for non-teaching and support staff in educational and health institutions, where KUDHEIHA under his leadership had been involved for years in collective bargaining, recognition agreements, employment disputes and protection of workers’ interests.
Details of his funeral arrangements had not been publicly announced by the time of publication.
By Joseph Mambili
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