Ngetich & 3 others v County Service Board Bomet & another
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that county workers hired outside the proper legal process cannot claim permanent jobs just because their contracts were renewed.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the appellants were lawfully employed by the 1st respondent
No. The appointments were made by the County Government of Bomet's HR Department and renewals by the Office of the County Secretary, neither of which is the Board, and no written delegation under section 86(1) was proved; the recruitment was irregular and void as a statutory matter.
The Board alone has statutory power under sections 59(1)(b) and 63(1) of the County Governments Act to appoint county public service officers. The appointment letters came from the County Government's HR Department and renewals from the County Secretary, not the Board. Section 86(1) permits delegation only in writing to specified persons, and no such written delegation was on record. The de facto engagement was therefore contrary to statute and could not found a sustainable claim.
Whether the appellants had a legitimate expectation of permanent retention
No. Fixed-term contracts carry no expectation of renewal absent an express promise or established practice, and irregular employment cannot generate such an expectation.
The court surveyed Indian, English and Kenyan authorities establishing that legitimate expectation is not a legal right but an expectation flowing from a promise or established practice, procedural in character and rooted in administrative law. No promise or regular practice of conversion to permanent terms existed, and since the employment itself was irregular, its invalidity could not ground an expectation of continued service.
Whether the appellants had a sustainable cause of action
No, on two grounds: non-joinder of the true employer (the county government or County Secretary) and want of any right of claim against the respondents.
The recruitment and renewals were acts of the County Government of Bomet, which was not joined as a party to the trial suit. Further, since the appellants' engagement was irregular and their fixed-term contracts had simply expired, they had no enforceable right against the Board or its Chairman capable of supporting the declarations and orders sought.
Legal principles established
#- Only a County Public Service Board, or an officer expressly empowered by the Board in writing under section 86(1) of the County Governments Act, may lawfully recruit county public service employees; recruitment by any other organ is irregular and cannot found a claim.
- Fixed-term contracts carry no legitimate expectation of renewal or conversion to permanent employment absent an express promise or established practice.
- The doctrine of legitimate expectation belongs to administrative and constitutional law and cannot be transplanted into contractual employment disputes.
- Contracts of service entered into irregularly cannot be validly extended, and courts will not order retention in employment on permanent terms.
Court orders
#- 1.The appellants' appeal be and is hereby dismissed
- 2.The judgment of the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kericho (D. K. Njagi Marete, J) delivered on 15th December 2017 in ELRC Cause No. 46 of 2017 be and is hereby upheld
- 3.Each party bears their own costs
- On appeal from
- Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kericho
- E.L.R.C Case No. 46 of 2017
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Ngetich & 3 others v County Service Board Bomet & another", Case Analysis (2022). Civil Appeal 20 of 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2022/732/eng@2022-04-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.