Paul Mzungu Sumba v Housing Finance Company of Kenya [2014] KEELRC 1317 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenyan employment claims about terminations before June 2008 follow the old six-year deadline, not the current three-year rule.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether section 90 of the Employment Act 2007 applies to a claim arising from a termination that occurred before the Act came into operation
It does not apply; the applicable law on 11th March 2008 was the repealed Employment Act Cap 226, under which the limitation period was 6 years, so the claim filed on 2nd July 2013 was within time.
The court reasoned that the Employment Act 2007 came into operation on 2nd June 2008, after the claimant's employment was terminated on 11th March 2008. Since statutes are presumed not to operate retrospectively, the limitation regime of the repealed Act (Cap 226), which allowed 6 years, governed the claim. Section 90 of the 2007 Act, requiring filing within 3 years, was therefore inapplicable and the preliminary objection founded on it had no merit.
The weight to be given to the authority of James K. Nyaribo v Permanent Secretary Ministry of Public Works & Another, cited by the Respondent in support of the objection
The court declined to follow that decision, holding it was made in error and that it was not bound by it.
Of the four authorities relied on by the Respondent, the court found none supported the preliminary objection except the Nyaribo decision. Even as to that case, the court held that it was decided in error and that, being a decision of a coordinate or subordinate court, it did not bind the Industrial Court. The court instead agreed with the Claimant's authority, Esther Kahai Kihima v Trident Insurance Company Limited, whose facts were similar.
Legal principles established
#- The limitation period applicable to a cause of action in employment is the one in force at the time the cause of action arose; section 90 of the Employment Act 2007 does not apply retrospectively to terminations that occurred before 2nd June 2008, when the repealed Employment Act Cap 226 with a 6-year limitation period governed.
Court orders
#- 1.The Respondent's Preliminary Objection is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction of the Industrial Court of Kenya over employment and labour relations claims
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Paul Mzungu Sumba v Housing Finance Company of Kenya [2014] KEELRC 1317 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). Cause No. 1000 of 2013. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2014/1317/eng@2014-09-24
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.