Kenya National Union of Nurses v County Government of Kirinyaga & 6 others [2020] KEELRC 37 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court struck out a nurses' petition because an appeal over the same dismissals was already pending before the Public Service Commission, so the statutory route had to be exhausted first.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Court has jurisdiction where an appeal under Section 77 of the County Governments Act is pending before the Public Service Commission
The Court struck out the Petition, holding that the exhaustion doctrine required the Petitioner to pursue the statutory remedy before the PSC, especially as an appeal was already pending there
The Court accepted the Respondents' position that where a statute provides a dispute resolution mechanism, that forum must be approached first, with appeals or review thereafter lying to the Superior Court. The exhaustion doctrine frowns on parties who bypass statutory mechanisms and appear to forum shop. It was not disputed that an appeal was already pending before the PSC. Since the Petition was not an appeal against the decision in that pending appeal, but a parallel proceeding, the Court struck it out and awarded costs to the objecting Respondents.
Whether the advocates on record were properly on record
The Court dismissed the Petitioner's argument on representation as unmerited, noting Wanyonyi & Muhia Advocates had filed a notice of change of advocates
The Petitioner had initially sued the County Government of Kirinyaga and two Cabinet Secretaries; the suit against the County Government spawned the 4th, 5th and 6th Respondents, initially represented by Waweru Gatonye & Co. Advocates. Wanyonyi & Muhia Advocates took over conduct of the suit for the 4th Respondent and filed a notice of change of advocates. The Court held the Petitioner's representation objection was unmerited and dismissed it, treating the issue as one the Petitioner itself created by splitting the case.
Legal principles established
#- Where a statute provides a dispute resolution mechanism, that forum should be approached first before resort to the Superior Court, and the exhaustion doctrine frowns on forum shopping
Court orders
#- 1.The Petition is struck out
- 2.The Petitioner to pay costs of the objections to the 4th and 5th-6th Respondents
- 3.The Petitioner's argument on representation is dismissed
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act (disputed); objections founded on Article 234(2)(i) of the Constitution and Section 77(1) of the County Governments Act, 2012
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.
- Abdi v Governor, Kakamega County Government & 2 others (Employment and Labour Relations Court Appeal E004 of 2022) [2022] KEELRC 1155 (KLR)[2022] KEELRC 1155 (KLR)14 Jul 2022
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya National Union of Nurses v County Government of Kirinyaga & 6 others [2020] KEELRC 37 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Not stated in judgment (Petition filed 23rd October 2019; Re-Amended Petition dated 8th June 2020). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/37/eng@2020-09-24
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.