Japheth Natse Ifedha v Collindale Security Company Limited [2014] KECA 299 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed employers only need reasonable care, not guaranteed safety, so an employee injured at work still must prove actual negligence.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Scope of the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction on a second appeal
The Court is confined to matters of law and must resist revisiting findings of fact.
Section 72(1) of the Civil Procedure Act restricts second appeals to questions of law. The Court adopted the formulation in Kenya Breweries Ltd v Godfrey Odoyo that it must resist the temptation of delving into matters of fact, unless the courts below considered matters they should not have, omitted matters they should have considered, or the decision is perverse. The appellant's complaints were essentially factual attacks on the appraisal of evidence.
Standard of an employer's duty of care to an employee
The duty is reasonable care against foreseeable risks, not an absolute or insurer's duty; providing walkie-talkies and an alarm discharged it.
Relying on Halsbury's Laws of England and Mwanyule v Said, the Court held the employer does not warrant the employee's safety nor insure against injury; due care and skill suffice. The appellant admitted being given the necessary equipment, and as supervisor he bore responsibility for requesting more guards but never did, so no breach of duty was established on a balance of probability.
Legal principles established
#- On a second appeal the Court of Appeal is restricted to matters of law only and will not interfere with concurrent findings of fact unless the lower courts considered matters they should not have, failed to consider matters they should have, or the decision is perverse.
- An employer owes no absolute duty of safety to an employee; the duty is one of reasonable care against reasonably foreseeable risks, and provision of reasonable precautions discharges it.
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the appeal to the respondent
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
- HCCA No. 99 of 2004
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal from the High Court in a second appeal, restricted by Section 72(1) of the Civil Procedure Act (Cap. 21) to matters of law only
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Japheth Natse Ifedha v Collindale Security Company Limited [2014] KECA 299 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). Civil Appeal No. 79 of 2005. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2014/299/eng@2014-10-24
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.