Joel Opumbi & 30 others v Devki Steel Mills Limited [2021] KEELRC 685 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court allowed an amendment to fix a lawyer's honest error, confirming a claimant listed in an annexure was never time-barred.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the omission of Alfred Onchiri from the face of the Statement of Claim meant his claim was never filed
His claim was brought on board on the filing date via the attached list of claimants; the amendment is a mere formality for order and clarity
The Statement of Claim referenced Appendix 1 listing all terminated employees including Onchiri. Reading paragraph 1 with the list shows his claim was filed with his colleagues on 4th July 2017. Correcting the duplicated name of Charles Kwendo Masinde and inserting Onchiri does not introduce a new claim, so Section 90 of the Employment Act time-bar objection fails.
Whether the respondent opposed the other amendments sought
The grounds of opposition addressed only the substitution issue; no justification was shown to refuse the remaining amendments
The respondent's grounds of opposition only attacked the application as an attempt to smuggle in a time-barred claimant. The respondent did not deal with the other amendments in the Draft Amended Statement of Claim, so the court found no justification to exclude them and granted the application in full.
Legal principles established
#- An honest counsel error in drafting pleadings should not exclude a party from the temple of justice where the party's claim was in substance filed
Court orders
#- 1.Application dated 12th February 2021 granted
- 2.Draft amended Statement of Claim deemed duly filed upon payment of requisite court fees
- 3.Costs in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent powers of the Employment and Labour Relations Court to allow amendment of pleadings (not expressly cited in the ruling)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Joel Opumbi & 30 others v Devki Steel Mills Limited [2021] KEELRC 685 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Not stated in the extract. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/685/eng@2021-10-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.