Kinyeki & 88 others v Kenya Ports Authority & another (Cause 40 of 2015) [2023] KEELRC 2038 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether proceedings should be stayed pending the Supreme Court petition
Stay refused; the Supreme Court petition is unrelated to these claimants, the claim is at an advanced stage of hearing, and staying it would delay access to justice
The court held that the pending appeal concerns different claimants even though the respondents are the same. The respondents never sought consolidation and continued participating in the hearing. Any Supreme Court pronouncement would foster rather than impede access to justice, so there is no possibility of conflict between the two matters.
Whether the orders of 24 July 2019 should be reviewed
Review refused; no sufficient cause, error, mistake or new matter was established, and the respondents' inaction since 2019 defeated the application
The court found the directions of 24 July 2019 were issued with full awareness of the Court of Appeal decision and merely guided parties to settle or frame issues. No settlement or issues followed. The respondents filed the application only on 3 March 2022 without diligence, and the matters they wanted corrected did not amount to sufficient cause for review.
Whether written submissions could introduce the Supreme Court petition as a new fact
The Supreme Court petition was filed after the application and could only be introduced by affidavit or evidence, not by written submissions
The court noted the petition arose post-application and was only addressed in submissions. It held that submissions cannot introduce new facts, which must go into affidavits, evidence or as directed by the court, and that the orders sought had not been amended since the motion commenced.
Legal principles established
#- Stay of proceedings is a grave judicial action that seriously interferes with a litigant's right to conduct litigation and access justice; the test for granting it is high and stringent
- A court order may only be reviewed upon discovery of new matter, error, mistake, need for clarification or other sufficient cause
Court orders
#- 1.Application dated 3 March 2022 found without merit and dismissed with costs to the claimants
- 2.Hearing directions to issue, the claim to be heard on the merits
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, including Section 3 on the duty to administer justice expeditiously
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kinyeki & 88 others v Kenya Ports Authority & another (Cause 40 of 2015) [2023] KEELRC 2038 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in the judgment extract. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/2038/eng@2023-07-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.