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ELRCStruck OutKisumu Appeal No. E052 of 2023· [2024] KEELRC 1246 (KLR)

Oduor v Ahero Girls High School (Appeal E052 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 1246 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
15 May 2024
RSRadido Stephen
524 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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A Kenyan employment appeal collapsed because the appellant failed to include the judgment and decree in the Record of Appeal, ending with costs against him.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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George Ochieng Oduor appealed to the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kisumu against a judgment of a Senior Principal Magistrate delivered on 26 September 2023, in which he had sued Ahero Girls Secondary School for unfair termination of employment. The Memorandum of Appeal, lodged on 9 October 2023, advanced ten grounds including that the termination was wrongful and unlawful, breached sections 41(2) and 44 of the Employment Act, violated Articles 47 and 50 of the Constitution, was against the weight of evidence, and that the trial magistrate was biased. The Record of Appeal was filed on 22 March 2024, directions issued on 15 April 2024, and both parties filed submissions. However, when the court retreated to prepare judgment, it discovered that the impugned judgment and a copy of the decree were not part of the Record of Appeal. Relying on Order 42(4)(f) of the Civil Procedure Rules, which requires an appellant to include a copy of the judgment and decree appealed against in the record, the court held that without these primary documents the appeal was a non-starter and that the only logical course was to decline to assume jurisdiction. The court found the appeal incompetent and struck it out with costs to the respondent. The judgment did not address the merits of the unfair termination dispute, and the underlying decision was left undisturbed.

Key legal issues

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01

Competence of the appeal for omission of the judgment and decree from the Record of Appeal

Holding

The appeal was incompetent and was struck out

Reasoning

The court found, on perusal of the record after retreat, that neither the impugned judgment of the Senior Principal Magistrate nor a copy of the decree was included in the Record of Appeal. Order 42(4)(f) of the Civil Procedure Rules mandatorily requires the appellant to include these primary documents. Without them the appeal could not proceed, so the court declined to assume jurisdiction and struck the appeal out with costs.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • An appellant must include a copy of the judgment and/or decree appealed against in the Record of Appeal; failure renders the appeal incompetent and the court declines to assume jurisdiction

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Appeal is struck out with costs
On appeal from
Senior Principal Magistrate's Court
null
Jurisdiction invoked
Appeal under Order 42 of the Civil Procedure Rules from the Senior Principal Magistrate's Court

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Oduor v Ahero Girls High School (Appeal E052 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 1246 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Kisumu Appeal No. E052 of 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/1246/eng@2024-05-15

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.