Cheboi & another v Board of Management Kamoi Secondary School (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 27 & 28 of 2018 (Consolidated)) [2023] KEELRC 893 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the applicant Board of Management is a public entity subject to the Government Proceedings Act
Yes - it is an agent of the Cabinet Secretary exercising delegated functions and wholly government-funded, hence a government institution protected from execution.
The court applied the test from Association of Retirement Benefits Schemes (adopting the Indian Supreme Court's instrumentality criteria) as endorsed in Greenstar Systems v KICC. It found the applicant performs delegated functions of the Cabinet Secretary under section 53 of the Basic Education Act, is funded under section 83 by monies provided by Parliament, and its accounting officer is the head teacher appointed by the commission. No external financier or income source existed, and the attached items were the school's own furniture and computers, hence government property.
Whether the execution proceedings against the applicant were proper
No - execution against government property in enforcement of a money decree is improper; the claimant must follow section 21 of the Government Proceedings Act.
Having determined the applicant is a government institution, section 21(1) of the Government Proceedings Act prescribes the certificate procedure for enforcing money decrees against government, and section 21(4) bars execution or attachment against government. The proclamation and attachment by Lister Auctioneers therefore had no legal basis and were declared a nullity, with warrants lifted and the attachment set aside.
Legal principles established
#- A Board of Management of a public school, acting as agent of the Cabinet Secretary under the Basic Education Act and funded by Parliament, is a government institution to which the Government Proceedings Act applies.
- Execution proceedings are not available against the government; a money decree against the government is enforceable only through the certificate procedure under section 21 of the Government Proceedings Act.
Court orders
#- 1.The notice of attachment dated 01/02/2023 in execution of the money decree and the proclamation by Lister Auctioneers are set aside and quashed
- 2.The execution proceedings are declared a nullity and the warrants of attachment and sale are lifted
- 3.The auctioneer costs are to be borne by their client (the claimant)
- 4.Each party to bear its own costs of the application
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 159(2)(d) of the Constitution; proceedings to set aside execution of a decree issued by this court
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.
- Wasike v BOM the Salvation Army Kabuchai Girls & another (Civil Suit E177 of 2025) [2025] KEMC 411 (KLR)[2025] KEMC 411 (KLR)25 Nov 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Cheboi & another v Board of Management Kamoi Secondary School (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 27 & 28 of 2018 (Consolidated)) [2023] KEELRC 893 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in the judgment text. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/893/eng@2023-04-14
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.