Wilson Sossion & another v Nancy Njeri Macharia & another [2021] KEELRC 1773 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court dismissed Wilson Sossion and KNUT's challenge to his removal from the teachers' register, ruling key arguments had already been decided and bad faith was unproven.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Res judicata and issue estoppel
The challenge to the constitutionality of Regulation 187 CORT, clause 16 of the Code of Regulations for Teachers and section 16 of the Public Officers Ethics Act is barred because those provisions were invoked and litigated in Petition No. 12 of 2018 challenging the termination of Sossion's contract.
The termination notice expressly invoked Regulation 187, and the earlier petition squarely raised the lawfulness of the termination for breach of that regulation and the ethics provisions. Sossion was obliged to raise the unconstitutionality arguments then; he cannot revive them in a different cause. The Court noted the petition was stealthily drafted to revisit determined issues, and applied the principles contended for by the parties from Benjoh and Maina Kiai.
De-registration and bad faith
The Petitioners failed to prove that the Commission acted in bad faith in removing Sossion from the register of teachers under section 30 of the TSC Act.
Deregistration is a distinct regulatory function from employment. Sossion was given notice of intended de-registration with two allegations and 90 days to respond, but he declined to make representations and did not directly challenge the process. The Njuguna judgment on dual roles preceded the decision, but the Commission was not a party to it and was never shown to have been aware of it; it therefore cannot be faulted for ignoring it.
Legal principles established
#- Constitutional issues that could and should have been raised and determined in earlier litigation are caught by issue estoppel and res judicata
- De-registration of a teacher under section 30 of the TSC Act is an exercise of regulatory power distinct from termination of employment, and allegations of bad faith must be proved by the party alleging them
Court orders
#- 1.The Petition is dismissed
- 2.Each party to bear their own costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2) of the Constitution - Employment and Labour Relations Court (petition alleging violation of Articles 38 and 41)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Wilson Sossion & another v Nancy Njeri Macharia & another [2021] KEELRC 1773 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Petition No. 351 of 2019 (Nairobi). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2021/1773/eng@2021-05-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.