Nderitu v Fincom Technologies Limited (Cause 2151 of 2017) [2023] KEELRC 709 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employment court judge stepped aside from a case because his past personal ties to one side's lawyer could make fair people doubt his neutrality.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether prior association and interactions between counsel and the trial Judge give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias
Yes - the association (same school, church, Board of Management membership) may occasion reasonable apprehension of prejudice, bias or partiality, justifying recusal.
The court accepted that counsel and the Judge had interacted in other forums, principally as members of a Secondary School Board of Management where counsel was Chairperson. Relying on Webb v The Queen (Deane J) and the test in R v S (RD) as adopted in Kalpana Rawal, the court held the two-fold objective test was met: both the person alleging bias and the apprehension itself were reasonable, so the application was merited.
Legal principles established
#- A reasonable apprehension of bias must be reasonable, held by reasonable and right-minded persons, and a real likelihood or probability of bias must be demonstrated - mere suspicion is not enough.
- Association or prior interactions between counsel and a judge may give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias warranting recusal.
- Counsel have the right to apply for recusal of a Judge or Magistrate on reasonable apprehension of prejudice or bias, and the court must address such applications objectively.
Court orders
#- 1.The Honourable Judge Dr. Jacob Gakeri do hereby recuse himself from presiding over this matter.
- 2.The matter be referred to the Principal Judge, Employment and Labour Relations Court for re-allocation to a Judge other than the Honourable Justice Dr. Jacob Gakeri.
- 3.There shall be no orders as to costs.
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Articles 25 and 50 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and Order 51 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Maria Kagai Shipiri Ligaga v Prudential Africa Services Limited[2026] KEELRC 2749 (KLR)1 Oct 2026
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Nderitu v Fincom Technologies Limited (Cause 2151 of 2017) [2023] KEELRC 709 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/709/eng@2023-03-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.