Galot Estate Kiambu & another v Kenya Union of Commercial Food & Allied Workers & another (Civil Appeal 362 of 2019) [2025] KECA 690 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal struck out a union's employment claim because it skipped the mandatory conciliation process required before going to the Employment and Labour Relations Court.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Compliance with section 62 of the Labour Relations Act as a jurisdictional prerequisite
Conciliation under Part VIII of the Labour Relations Act is mandatory before instituting a claim in the ELRC; the 1st respondent neither awaited the conclusion of the conciliation process nor demonstrated any statutory basis for bypassing it, so the ELRC lacked jurisdiction.
The parties agreed the union had invoked section 62 by letter dated 14th February 2019 on the same issues later framed in the claim, but the claim was filed before the conciliation process concluded. Section 73(2)(a), relied on by the respondent, cannot be read in isolation: it sets out conditions for leapfrogging Part VIII, and the respondent proved neither failure of conciliation nor any of those conditions. Non-compliance with a statutory dispute-resolution mechanism is a pure point of law fit for a preliminary objection and disposes of the claim.
Threshold of a preliminary objection
The section 62 point met the Mukisa Biscuit threshold because it was a point of law arising from the pleadings capable of disposing of the claim as it related to jurisdiction.
Relying on Mukisa Biscuit as restated by the Supreme Court in Joho & Another vs. Shahbal, the Court held that an objection grounded on failure to exhaust statutory conciliation raises a pure point of law, assumed to be true on the pleaded facts, and requires no ascertainment of facts or exercise of discretion.
Appellate interference with discretion on a first appeal
The Court of Appeal may interfere where the trial judge misdirected herself or failed to consider matters she should have considered, resulting in a wrong decision or misjustice.
Applying Mbogo & Another vs. Shah, the Court found the learned Judge failed to render herself on the section 62 ground, which would have resolved all the other grounds in the preliminary objection; that failure of consideration justified upsetting her discretionary ruling.
Legal principles established
#- Under section 62 and Part VIII of the Labour Relations Act, conciliation is a mandatory prerequisite before a trade dispute may be referred to the ELRC; the exceptions in section 73(2) cannot be read in isolation and the party bypassing conciliation must show the statutory conditions are met.
- Where a claim is filed in breach of the mandatory conciliation machinery, the ELRC lacks jurisdiction and the claim is liable to be struck out.
Court orders
#- 1.Appeal allowed.
- 2.Ruling and order of the ELRC made on 9th July 2019 set aside.
- 3.Appellants' preliminary objection upheld.
- 4.1st respondent's claim dated 26th February 2019 struck out in its entirety.
- 5.Each party to bear their own costs of the appeal and the proceedings before the ELRC.
- On appeal from
- Employment and Labour Relations Court, Nairobi
- ELRC Cause No. 120 of 2019
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Employment and Labour Relations Court (statutory first appeal); no specific constitutional or statutory provision cited in the judgment.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Galot Estate Kiambu & another v Kenya Union of Commercial Food & Allied Workers & another (Civil Appeal 362 of 2019) [2025] KECA 690 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/690/eng@2025-04-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.