Butali Sugar Mills Limited v Wemali & another (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E017 of 2022) [2023] KEELRC 886 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court dismissed Frodak and Butali Sugar's appeal over where an employment case should be heard, because the suits had already been moved to Butali.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the appeal was overtaken by events
Yes - the primary suit had been transferred to Butali Law Courts by the ruling of December 2, 2022, which the appellant did not appeal against, and any fresh decision on jurisdiction would be res judicata
The 1st respondent demonstrated that a notice of motion under sections 18(1)(b) and 3A of the Civil Procedure Act had resulted in the transfer of the primary suit and numerous related suits to Butali Law Courts. The appellant participated in that application and did not appeal the resulting ruling. The court therefore found that it had already applied its mind to the magistrate's territorial jurisdiction and that a fresh determination would violate the principle of res judicata. The other issues need not be determined.
Principles governing a first appeal from a trial by the magistrate's court
A first appeal is by way of retrial; the appellate court must reconsider and evaluate the evidence itself while making due allowance for not having seen or heard the witnesses
The court restated the classic guidance in Selle v Associated Motor Boat Company Ltd and David Kahuruka Gitau v Nancy Ann Wathithi Gatu, confirming that a first appellate court re-evaluates the evidence and law and draws its own conclusions, though it is not bound by the trial court's findings of fact where those findings failed to account for particular circumstances or probabilities.
Legal principles established
#- Where a court has already determined the jurisdiction of the trial court and ordered transfer of the suits, a subsequent appeal on the same jurisdictional issue is res judicata and overtaken by events
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is dismissed as overtaken by events with no order as to costs
- 2.The judgment applies to Bungoma ELRC Appeals Nos. E15, E17, E18, E20, E21 and E22 of 2022
- 3.Bungoma ELRC Appeals Nos. E016, E019, E023 and E024 of 2022 are dismissed on the basis of the appeals having been overtaken by events, with no order as to costs
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court at Kakamega (Kakamega CMELRC No. 25 of 2020)
- Kakamega CMELRC No. 25 of 2020
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appeal from the magistrate's court pursuant to the Magistrates' Courts Act and Civil Procedure Act (ruling on a preliminary objection on territorial jurisdiction under section 12 of the Civil Procedure Act)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Butali Sugar Mills Limited v Wemali & another (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E017 of 2022) [2023] KEELRC 886 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Bungoma ELRC Appeal (judgment directed to apply in Appeals Nos. E15, E17, E18, E20, E21 and E22 of 2022, arising from Kakamega CMELRC No. 25 of 2020). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/886/eng@2023-04-14
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.