Ogola v Mount Kenya University (Miscellaneous Civil Application E046 of 2022) [2023] KEELRC 2281 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenyan employment claims must be filed within three years—courts have no power to extend that deadline, no matter how strong the case.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the court can extend time for filing an employment claim under section 90 of the Employment Act
No. Section 90 ousts the Limitation of Actions Act, requires filing within three years, and provides no power to enlarge time.
Section 90 expressly displaces section 4(1) of the Limitation of Actions Act for employment claims and fixes three years as the limitation period. The provision contains no saving or extension mechanism, so the court cannot judicially craft one. Even if such a discretion existed, the applicant offered no explanation for the delay beyond unfulfilled promises of settlement, and filed over a year after expiry.
Whether a time-barred claim is a mere technicality
No; it goes to the court's jurisdiction to entertain the claim.
The court agreed with the respondent that limitation is not a technicality but touches the core of jurisdiction: once time expires the action becomes stale and cannot be entertained, whatever its merits.
Legal principles established
#- Section 90 of the Employment Act ousts the Limitation of Actions Act in employment matters and fixes a three-year limitation period with no provision for extension.
- Once the statutory limitation period expires, the claim is time-barred and goes to jurisdiction regardless of merit.
Court orders
#- 1.The Applicant's notice of motion dated November 17, 2022 is dismissed with costs to the Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 41 of the Constitution; sections 3, 3A and 95 of the Civil Procedure Act; section 4(1) of the Limitation of Actions Act; section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act; Rule 17 of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules
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.
- Bichanga v Mount Kenya University (Cause E073 of 2022) [2024] KEELRC 985 (KLR)[2024] KEELRC 985 (KLR)11 Apr 2024distinguished
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Ogola v Mount Kenya University (Miscellaneous Civil Application E046 of 2022) [2023] KEELRC 2281 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Notice of motion dated November 17, 2022. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/2281/eng@2023-09-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.