West Kenya Sugar Co. Ltd v Nyongesa (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal 21 of 2023) [2023] KEELRC 1603 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court upheld magistrates' power to hear work injury claims filed between 2008 and 2019, thanks to the Chief Justice's April 2023 Practice Directions.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the trial magistrate misapprehended the law on WIBA jurisdiction
No. The legitimate expectation recognized by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court was limited to litigation pending before courts prior to WIBA's entry into force (2nd June 2008); the suit having been filed in 2017, the appellant's preliminary objection would ordinarily have succeeded
The court analysed the Court of Appeal decision in Attorney General v Law Society of Kenya and the Supreme Court decision in Law Society of Kenya v Attorney General, holding that legitimate expectation covered only pending pre-WIBA cases, and found the decision in West Kenya Sugar Co Ltd v Tito Lucheli Tangale inconsistent with the binding Supreme Court holding. It upheld its own prior decisions that magistrates' courts lack jurisdiction over post-WIBA WIBA claims.
Effect of the Chief Justice's Practice Directions of 28th April 2023
The Practice Directions expressly grant magistrates' courts jurisdiction over WIBA claims filed between WIBA's commencement and the Supreme Court decision of 3rd December 2019, so the trial court is clothed with jurisdiction and the appeal must fail
The court held the practice directions were lawfully issued by the Chief Justice under section 27 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act and the Constitution, passed muster by the doctrine of necessity, promoted substantive justice and access to justice under Articles 159 and 48, and caused no tangible prejudice to the appellant.
Legal principles established
#- Claimants in work-injury cases pending before courts prior to WIBA's commencement have a legitimate expectation that their cases will be concluded under the judicial process invoked; all post-WIBA claims lie before the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services
- Jurisdiction is not a procedural technicality; without jurisdiction a court cannot take any further step
- Practice Directions issued by the Chief Justice in Gazette Notice No. 5476 of 28th April 2023 confer jurisdiction on magistrates' courts over WIBA claims filed after commencement of WIBA but before 3rd December 2019
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal dated 15th September 2022 is dismissed
- 2.Each party to bear own costs in the appeal
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court, Kakamega
- CMCC No. 234 of 2017
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court appellate jurisdiction over appeals from magistrates' courts under the Employment and Labour Relations Act; appeal against ruling on preliminary objection on jurisdiction under sections 16, 23 and 52 of the Work Injury Benefits Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "West Kenya Sugar Co. Ltd v Nyongesa (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal 21 of 2023) [2023] KEELRC 1603 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). ELRC Appeal (Kakamega) from Kakamega CMCC No. 234 of 2017. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/1603/eng@2023-06-29
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.