Lydia Kaimuri Gikundi v Postal Corporation of Kenya [2018] KEELRC 591 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court struck out a dismissal claim filed over 10 years late, ruling you cannot dodge the 3-year time limit by filing a constitutional petition.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the petition met the threshold of a constitutional petition
It did not; it pleaded no specific constitutional violations and sought only statutory Employment Act remedies
The court compared the authorities relied on by the petitioner. It distinguished the Court of Appeal decision in Murenga, where the Constitution was held not to limit articulation of rights violations, because here the petitioner set out no constitutional infringements. The claims were for 12 months' compensation, salary, house allowance and similar Employment Act remedies, so the petition was a memorandum of claim in constitutional clothing.
Whether the claim is time barred under Section 90 of the Employment Act and whether that ousts jurisdiction
The claim, arising from a dismissal on 3rd January 2008, was time barred; limitation extinguished the court's jurisdiction
The court reasoned that limitation law bars stale claims and protects defendants from unreasonable delay. Authorities finding limitation inapplicable to constitutional claims were held merely persuasive or distinguishable. Since the petition was in substance an Employment Act claim filed over 10 years after dismissal, Section 90 barred it, and without jurisdiction the only course was striking out the petition.
Legal principles established
#- Jurisdiction is everything and a court without jurisdiction can do nothing
- A petition that seeks only Employment Act remedies without pleading constitutional infringements is a disguised memorandum of claim and is barred by limitation
Court orders
#- 1.The Petition dated 18th May 2018 is struck out for want of jurisdiction, being time barred
- 2.No order as to costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act and Constitution; contested on limitation under Section 90 of the Employment Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- THE AIC MAKUTANO MISSION CHURCH v THE AIC POKOT AREA CHURCH COUNCIL[2019] KEHC 11874 (KLR)30 Oct 2019
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Lydia Kaimuri Gikundi v Postal Corporation of Kenya [2018] KEELRC 591 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). Petition filed 18th May 2018. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2018/591/eng@2018-11-05
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.