Munandi v Hewson Company Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E015 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 460 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court confirmed injured workers can enforce workplace injury compensation awards directly, and employers who miss the 60-day objection deadline lose their chance to challenge them.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction to adopt the Director's award
The Court has jurisdiction to adopt the DOSH award as its judgment for execution purposes.
WIBA contains a lacuna as it provides no procedure for enforcing the Director's assessment. Relying on Samson Chweya Mwandabole v Protective Custody Ltd and Elijah Kisyanga Ndende v Zahkem International Construction Ltd, the Court held that its unlimited original jurisdiction under Article 162(2)(a) and section 12 of the ELRC Act confers inherent jurisdiction to adopt the award for execution, distinct from the appellate jurisdiction under section 52(2) WIBA.
Prematurity of the claim
The claim was mature; the Respondent's purported objection was time-barred and not in the prescribed form, and no valid objection or appeal was mounted against the award.
The employer had ninety days under section 26(4) WIBA from lodgement on 10th January 2023 to settle. Its letter of 13th June 2023 came 146 days after lodgement, beyond the sixty-day objection window under section 51(1), and was not in the prescribed form DOSH/WIBA/12. There was no proof the award was set aside or cancelled; the Claimant's withdrawal of union/DOSH complaints did not extinguish the award.
Second medical examination
A request for a second medical examination amounts to an objection and must be made within sixty days; the Respondent did not comply.
Section 25 WIBA permits an employer to require a second medical examination after reasonable notice, but the Court held such a request operates as an objection to the award and is subject to the sixty-day statutory timeline under section 51. The medical reports relied on post-dated the accident of 8th December 2021, and there was no evidence of a prior accident or pre-existing injury.
Legal principles established
#- The ELRC has inherent jurisdiction to adopt a DOSH award under WIBA as judgment of the Court for purposes of execution, distinct from appellate jurisdiction under section 52(2) WIBA.
- An objection to a Director's decision under section 51(1) WIBA must be lodged within sixty days and in the prescribed form; an untimely or non-conforming objection is ineffective.
Court orders
#- 1.The Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services' assessment of Kshs. 244,600/- dated 10th January 2023 is adopted as the judgment of the Court.
- 2.Interest on the award sum of Kshs. 244,600/- at court rates from the date of the order till payment in full.
- 3.Costs of the suit awarded to the Claimant.
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2)(a) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act; inherent jurisdiction to adopt a Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services award under WIBA
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Munandi v Hewson Company Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E015 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 460 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Not stated in judgment text provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/460/eng@2024-02-29
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.