Board of Trustees, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (Suing on behalf of the Scheme) v Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) [2020] KEELRC 1088 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court ordered KBC to keep remitting pension deductions and contributions to its staff retirement scheme while a recovery lawsuit is decided.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether an interlocutory mandatory injunction could issue compelling remittance of pension deductions and contributions
The court found the case clear and granted the mandatory injunction in terms of prayer 2 pending the hearing of the main suit.
The court applied the principles in Kenya Breweries v Okeyo, Locabail and Nation Media Group v Mwau that a mandatory injunction at the interlocutory stage requires special circumstances and a higher standard than a prohibitory injunction. It found no contest that the Respondent is obliged by law, contract and its own admission to remit employee deductions and its own contributions; the Respondent admitted indebtedness; and the continued decline in funding exposed the Scheme to administration or dissolution, occasioning irreparable harm to members.
Whether the Respondent's financial difficulties could defeat the application
The financial distress claim failed because no particulars or audited financial statements were disclosed.
The only oppositions were the absence of computation of unremitted amounts and the Respondent's alleged financial difficulties. The court noted that particulars of the alleged financial distress had not been disclosed to the court. The claimant's suit was for future remittances from the date of the order, a simple and forward-looking act, which did not require determination of the total quantum owed.
Legal principles established
#- An interlocutory mandatory injunction will only be granted in the clearest of cases and upon demonstration of special and exceptional circumstances
Court orders
#- 1.Pending the hearing and determination of the main suit, the Respondent is required to submit to the KBC Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme all deductions made from its employees' emoluments/salaries for purposes of remittance to the Scheme; the Respondent's contributions towards the Scheme; and property rent collections (staff tenants check-offs) from the date of the order henceforth
- 2.Costs of the application to abide the outcome of the suit
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court Rules, Rule 17; Retirement Benefits Authority Act Section 53A
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Board of Trustees, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (Suing on behalf of the Scheme) v Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) [2020] KEELRC 1088 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Notice of Motion dated 3rd September 2018 (main suit reference not stated). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/1088/eng@2020-05-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.