Board of Trustees, National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) Superannuation Scheme v Eldama Ravine Water & Sewerage Company Limited;Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (Ganishee) [2019] KEELRC 1938 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court ruled that water companies, though public utilities, are ordinary limited liability companies whose bank accounts can be attached to pay judgment debts.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Status of the respondent under section 21(4) of the Government Proceedings Act
The respondent is not a government agency or subsidiary; its registration as a limited liability company gives it a separate corporate status, so its property can be attached in execution of a decree.
The Memorandum of Claim described the respondent as a limited liability company established under the Water Act, 2002, facts unchallenged as the respondent did not defend the suit. That registration establishes an independent legal entity distinct from a government agency, even where the service provided is public in nature. Cases cited by the respondent were distinguished as fundamentally different on their facts.
Effect of the authority in National Union of Water & Sewerage Employees v Mathira Water and Sanitation Company Limited
The authority was acknowledged but did not save the respondent; it confirmed water companies are private companies rendering public services with capacity to sue and be sued.
The court read the Mathira case as holding that water companies registered under the Water Act are limited liability companies, agents of the local government, yet private companies rendering public services that retain capacity to sue and be sued, as with Eldoret Water and Nairobi City Water companies. That capacity defeats the section 21 protection claimed.
Legal principles established
#- A water company registered as a limited liability company under the Water Act is a separate legal entity with capacity to sue and be sued, and is not a government agency protected from attachment under section 21 of the Government Proceedings Act, even where it performs a public function.
Court orders
#- 1.The respondent's objections to the claimant's application dated 22nd November 2018 are found without merit and dismissed
- 2.The property held by the garnishee for the respondent under current account Numbers 1111359409 and 1105641945 shall be released to the claimant in satisfaction of the judgment debt
- 3.The respondent shall meet the costs due to the claimant and those of the Garnishee
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over the suit and its execution; judgment delivered 20th July 2017 with a decree to be satisfied
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Board of Trustees, National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporation (NWCPC) Superannuation Scheme v Eldama Ravine Water & Sewerage Company Limited;Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (Ganishee) [2019] KEELRC 1938 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/1938/eng@2019-02-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.