Mohumed v Wajir County Assembly Service Board (Cause E094 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 1813 (KLR)

The Respondent argued the matter belonged to the Magistrate's Court given the Claimant's salary. The court held that the ELRC's jurisdiction stems from Article 162 of the Constitution and section 12 of the ELRC Act, which confers original and appellate jurisdiction. Section 29 empowers the Chief Justice to appoint magistrates only to facilitate access to judicial services, not to oust the ELRC's jurisdiction. The AVC case was distinguished as a convenience transfer, not a jurisdictional ruling.

The court read section 77 of the County Governments Act with section 85 of the Public Service Commission Act and held that 'any county public officer' includes County Assembly staff, since a County Government under Article 176 comprises both the County Assembly and County Executive. Nevertheless, the doctrine of exhaustion postpones rather than ousts jurisdiction, and the Respondent, having not raised the objection before trial, was deemed to have acquiesced to the court's jurisdiction.

The Claimant testified that her services were verbally declared no longer required without notice, reasons or a hearing, and the Respondent tendered no evidence to controvert this. The employer bears the burden of justifying termination. The June 2022 confirmation letter was of no legal effect since the contract was constructively confirmed when the probationary period lapsed in April 2018 and the employee continued in service.

Though reinstatement is granted sparingly because the employment relationship is anchored on trust, the court considered the parties' desires, the practicability of implementation, the public nature of the employer easing reintegration, and the fact that termination occurred only about two years earlier. It therefore ordered reinstatement without loss of benefits.