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ELRCDismissed(not stated in judgment)· [2018] KEELRC 763 (KLR)

Jacob Bundi Marete & another v Chairman and Council Members of Kenya Methodist University [2018] KEELRC 763 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
2 October 2018
NMNzioki wa Makau
1,332 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~5 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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The Employment Court dismissed lecturers' claims for unpaid dues because they couldn't prove non-payment and had cleared their employer without raising objections.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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Two contract lecturers sued Kenya Methodist University for unpaid salaries, supervision payments, part-time teaching fees, annual increments, gratuity and unremitted statutory dues for services from 2014 to 2016, with earlier claims back to 2011. The Respondent defended on the basis that the Claimants were paid in full, cleared with it on termination after redundancy, and were estopped from claiming further dues, with pre-2014 claims time barred. Only the Claimants testified; the Respondent called no witness. The 1st Claimant admitted he did not sign the contract letter in acceptance, that the income tax claim was not part of his case, and that he lacked the amended contract. The 2nd Claimant testified that gratuity for 2014-2015 was unpaid, SACCO deductions were not remitted, and NSSF deductions of Kshs. 2,800 were unpaid. The court found the handover notes showed incomplete student supervision but that supervisory sums fell due only after successful thesis defence, and non-payment was not demonstrated. No SACCO demand letters existed, and clearance forms indicated no outstanding dues, supporting estoppel. Gratuity for the 2013 contract was time barred under Section 90 of the Employment Act; part-time teaching non-payment and NSSF dues were unproved. The court dismissed the entire claim and ordered each party to bear their own costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Burden of proof of unpaid dues

Holding

The Claimants failed to discharge the burden of proving the sums claimed were unpaid

Reasoning

The contracts for supervision provided that sums fell due after successful defence of the thesis. It was not demonstrated that the Respondent failed to pay for supervised students. No SACCO demand letters existed, and clearance forms showed no outstanding dues. Claims prior to 2014 were time barred under Section 90 of the Employment Act and the Claimants were estopped from asserting them.

p. 3
02

Estoppel on clearance

Holding

Clearance with the Respondent and the SACCO estopped the Claimants from claiming unpaid remittances

Reasoning

The clearance forms filled by Mwalimu SACCO on departure indicated no outstanding dues or pending loans. It was implausible that the Claimants, holding SACCO accounts, would not notice missing remittances over many months. The Respondent relied on 748 Air Services Ltd v Theuri Munyi on estoppel, which the court applied in dismissing the claims.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A claimant must clearly make out their case; the court will not distill the claim from unparticularised documents

Court orders

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  1. 1.The claims are dismissed
  2. 2.Each party to bear their own costs of the suit

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Employment ActSection 90

Cases cited (1)

  • 748 Air Services Ltd v Theuri Munyi
    [2017] eKLR
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over employment disputes (Employment Act, Section 90 invoked on limitation)

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (3)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Jacob Bundi Marete & another v Chairman and Council Members of Kenya Methodist University [2018] KEELRC 763 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2018). (not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2018/763/eng@2018-10-02

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.