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ELRCDismissedCause No 773 of 2011· [2017] KEELRC 1831 (KLR)
Peter Onditi Ogugu v Allpack Industries Limited & another [2017] KEELRC 1831 (KLR)
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·~2 min to read original · ~4 min briefThe bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court threw out a worker's document demands because he couldn't show exactly why each document mattered to his case.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#This was an interlocutory ruling of the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nairobi on notices to produce documents. The Claimant, acting in person, served notices dated 21st March 2016 on the 1st Respondent seeking the original investigation report referenced in his summary dismissal letter, company rules and regulations, original signed minutes of management and board meetings for various financial years, a letter from Jubilee Insurance Company concerning his accrued pension benefits, and certified bank statements for August to December 2010. A similar notice was served on the 2nd Respondent for board minutes. The Respondents opposed, through a replying affidavit sworn by their Legal Officer, Wilson Mapesa, characterising the notices as a wild fishing expedition. Counsel for the Respondents submitted that the investigation report was already attached to the reply to claim, that no management meeting was held on 13th August 2010 to discuss the Claimant's case, and that the 1st Respondent was unaware of any Jubilee Insurance letter. The Claimant relied on the Court's decisions in Transport & Allied Workers Union v SITA and Paul Simidi Masinde, invoking the right to information under Article 35(1)(b) of the Constitution. The Court applied Timothy Njoya, Oluoch v Charagu and NSSF Trustees v Sally Kosgei, holding that documents sought must be specific and important to the applicant's case, and production orders must not coerce a party to prove its pleadings. Finding no basis laid for production, the Court overruled the production notices with costs in the cause.
Key legal issues
#01
Whether the Claimant's notices to produce documents should be upheld
Holding
The notices were overruled as no basis for production had been laid
Reasoning
The Court reviewed the notices and the Respondents' reply, and applied the principles in Timothy Njoya and Oluoch v Charagu that documents sought must be specific and important to the applicant's case, and that production orders cannot serve as coercion to prove pleadings. It found the notices amounted to a fishing expedition and no legal basis for production was established.
p. 2
Legal principles established
#- A party seeking production of documents must lay a basis showing the documents are specific and necessary for advancement of their case
- An order for production of documents should not be used to coerce a party to prove its pleadings at the discovery stage
Court orders
#- 1.The Claimant's production notices are overruled
- 2.Costs in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original employment and labour relations jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Peter Onditi Ogugu v Allpack Industries Limited & another [2017] KEELRC 1831 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2017). Cause No 773 of 2011. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2017/1831/eng@2017-02-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.