Peter Wambugu Kariuki & 16 others v Kenya Agricultural Research Institute [2020] KEELRC 1621 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Before asking a Kenyan court to reconstruct a missing file, you must first get written confirmation from the court registry that the file is genuinely lost.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Preconditions for an application to reconstruct a missing court file
The application is premature unless the Registrar/Deputy Registrar has issued a certificate or written communication confirming the file is lost and recommending reconstruction
Section 11 of the ELRC Act, 2011 places custody of all court files on the Registrar and Deputy Registrars. Following Abdul Karim Omar v Stephen Ngumbau Kithuka, the court outlined internal tracing steps: checking the file movement register, memo circulation, special search, entries in the missing files register, and after 14 days' fruitless search, a certificate confirming loss and recommending reconstruction. Only after such written confirmation are parties justified in seeking reconstruction. The applicants' letters to the Deputy Registrar went unanswered, which the court noted, but the formal confirmation had not issued.
Whether the respondent would suffer prejudice
No prejudice would be visited on the respondent from reconstruction once properly triggered
The court observed that once a reconstruction order is issued both parties would supply the necessary records, and the respondent suffers no prejudice from the process. However, the procedural prerequisite of confirmation by the custodian had not been met, so the application was premature rather than meriting outright dismissal on the merits.
Legal principles established
#- Reconstruction of a missing court file is an internal matter of the Registry, and parties may only seek reconstruction after the Registrar or Deputy Registrar, as official custodian of court files under section 11 of the ELRC Act, confirms in writing that the file cannot be traced
- Without written communication from the custodian of court records confirming the file is missing, there is a presumption the file remains in the custody of the office legally mandated to keep it
Court orders
#- 1.The Registrar, ELRC and the Deputy Registrar(s) Nakuru shall attend the outlined internal steps for tracing missing files within twenty one (21) days
- 2.Upon confirmation by the responsible officer, the parties shall be at liberty to move the court as appropriate
- 3.No orders on costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 11 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, 2011
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Peter Wambugu Kariuki & 16 others v Kenya Agricultural Research Institute [2020] KEELRC 1621 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Miscellaneous application in ELRC Petition No. 2 of 2013 (application dated 9th October, 2019). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/1621/eng@2020-01-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.