Kenya Universities Staff Union & 3 others v Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology [2021] KEELRC 1338 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Employment Court refused to jail Masinde Muliro University's acting VC for contempt because the union should have sought clarification of a conflicting court judgment instead.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Respondent's retirement of union members at 60 years constituted wilful disobedience of the 12 April 2018 orders
No wilful disobedience was established; the Respondent acted on the strength of the Nairobi ELRC judgment of 15 January 2021, which confirmed the CBAs as registered on 3 July 2020 and expunged retirement-age proposals from them
The Court acknowledged the 2018 orders prohibiting retirement before 65 years, but noted that the applicant had been party to the Nairobi litigation in which the Court held that retirement in the public sector is governed by government policy and that parties cannot negotiate outside public policy and SRC guidelines. The Nairobi judgment expunged the 65-year retirement proposals from the CBAs and confirmed them as registered. Given the applicant's and Respondent's differing interpretations of that judgment, the Respondent's reliance on it negated wilfulness.
The proper remedy where orders of one court are said to conflict with a later judgment of another court
The applicant should have sought clarification from the Nairobi Court that delivered the 15 January 2021 judgment instead of instituting contempt proceedings
The Court held that where two judgments of courts of coordinate jurisdiction bear on the same subject and a party's conduct rests on a good-faith interpretation of the later judgment, committal is not the appropriate avenue; clarification from the issuing court preserves the integrity of the orders without punishing an innocent party.
Legal principles established
#- Contempt/committal requires wilful disobedience of a court order; where a party acts in reliance on a subsequent judgment of a court of concurrent jurisdiction and the orders are open to differing interpretations, the proper course is to seek clarification from the court that issued the judgment rather than move for contempt
Court orders
#- 1.THE MOTION DATED 4 FEBRUARY 2021 IS DISMISSED WITH COSTS
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Contempt/committal jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in a matter in which it had earlier issued orders of injunction, prohibition and declaration
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya Universities Staff Union & 3 others v Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology [2021] KEELRC 1338 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Motion dated 4 February 2021 (ELRC, Kisumu). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/1338/eng@2021-07-01
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.