Wanjala J.A.Kuloba & 9 others v Registrar Of Trade Unions & 10 others [2015] KEELRC 1282 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Registrar of Trade Unions cannot cancel registered union elections based on a letter — only the Employment and Labour Relations Court can reverse them.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Registrar could nullify properly held trade union elections on the strength of a letter from the Union's Secretary General
The Registrar could not. Having registered the results and entered the elected officials in the register, only the court could reverse the elections; the Registrar's statutory powers under Sections 34 and 35 of the Labour Relations Act had been spent.
The Nairobi branch elections were held on 5/3/2011 pursuant to the Registrar's own circular, Form Q was filed by the Secretary General on 7/3/2011 and registered. The Registrar later purported, on the basis of a Secretary General's letter of 7/6/2011, to declare Form Q overtaken by events. The court held this was improper administrative action contrary to Article 37 of the Constitution and beyond the Registrar's statutory mandate, since under Section 35(4) the Registrar may refuse registration only after an inquiry into validity, and disputes are referable to the Industrial Court under Section 34(4).
Whether the Secretary General's letter dated 7/6/2011 was a competent notice authorising the Registrar to declare Form Q overtaken
It was not a competent authority; the Registrar acted unlawfully in relying on it.
The court found that by the time the Registrar rejected Form Q he had no other Form Q before him, that his statutory power under Section 34 had already been spent once Form Q and Form F were filed, and that a letter from the Secretary General could not substitute for the statutory process or a court order. The Registrar's conduct was characterised as the height of impunity and a flouting of Article 37 of the Constitution.
Legal principles established
#- Once the Registrar of Trade Unions has entered election results in the register, only the Industrial Court can reverse them; the Registrar cannot nullify properly held elections on the strength of a letter from the Union's Secretary General.
Court orders
#- 1.The decision by the Registrar to find the Form Q filed on 7th March 2011 overtaken by events is null and void and is quashed, together with any other decisions made thereafter
- 2.The Respondent to register Form Q dated 7th March 2011 as it was on 10th March 2011
- 3.The Respondent shall pay costs of this suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 34(4) of the Labour Relations Act - disputes arising from trade union elections referred to the Industrial Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Wanjala J.A.Kuloba & 9 others v Registrar Of Trade Unions & 10 others [2015] KEELRC 1282 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2015). Cause No. 904 of 2011. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2015/1282/eng@2015-03-05
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.