Kenya Union of Entertainment & Music Industry and Employees v Sport Stadia Management Board [2019] KEELRC 526 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court dismissed a union's contempt case against an employers' federation, ruling that contempt requires very strong proof.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Payment of union dues and agency fees for 2011 to September 2015
No contempt established; the Claimant failed to prove non-payment or quantify any unpaid balance after receiving Kshs. 1,295,229.86
The Claimant alleged non-payment but did not emphatically assert it, nor quantify the unpaid dues after receiving the respondent's full payment per its records. The Claimant itself conceded the application was really about CBA negotiations, not dues. The evidential burden lay on the party alleging breach, and the evidence fell short of the contempt threshold.
Recognition of the Claimant for purposes of 2017/2019 CBA negotiations
No contempt established; the validity of the derecognition is a dispute for resolution under the Labour Relations Act, not contempt proceedings
The respondent asserted it had derecognised the Claimant by writing to the National Labour Board after members defected en masse to KUDHEIHA. The court observed its earlier ruling on this point may have been per incuriam of section 54(6) of the LRA, and held that the statutory dispute-resolution mechanism, not contempt, was the proper avenue.
Legal principles established
#- An application for contempt is a quasi-criminal process which may lead to loss of liberty or property, and the supporting evidence must be beyond peradventure
- Where the Labour Relations Act provides a mechanism for resolving a recognition dispute, contempt proceedings are an inappropriate recourse
Court orders
#- 1.The contempt application dated 19th October 2017 is dismissed
- 2.No order on costs
- 3.It is so ordered
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent contempt jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in a cause pending before it (application dated 19th October 2017 under the Court's contempt process)
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.
- Kenya Engineering Workers Union v M/S Crom Impex (K) Limited (Cause 279 of 2016) [2023] KEELRC 2138 (KLR)[2023] KEELRC 2138 (KLR)21 Sept 2023
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Union of Entertainment & Music Industry and Employees v Sport Stadia Management Board [2019] KEELRC 526 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Cause 781 of 2014 (Contempt application dated 19th October 2017). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/526/eng@2019-10-18
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.