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ELRCPartially AllowedNot stated in the judgment· [2024] KEELRC 2330 (KLR)

Okudho v SS Mehta & Sons Limited (Cause E055 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 2330 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
23 September 2024
NMNzioki Wa Makau
370 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~1 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan employment court fined a claimant for re-tendering documents that a judge had already excluded, warning of further sanctions if compliance orders were ignored.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This is a brief ex tempore ruling delivered by Nzioki Wa Makau J in the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kisumu on 23rd September 2024, arising during the Claimant's testimony in an employment claim. The court confronted the scope of an earlier ruling by Radido J of 22nd May 2024, which had declined to admit a set of documents except those at pages 16-20 and page 22 of the claimant's bundle - comprising records of the cumulative breakdown of blank binding wire, diesel records and breakdown, programmes of works and the demand letter. Although the Claimant tendered eighteen exhibits during testimony, the court confined admissibility to the documents permitted by the earlier ruling, expressly excluding the Claimant's curriculum vitae, the bundle containing pay slips of March and April 2023 for a store keeper who was a stranger to the proceedings, and the documents listed in the Claimant's set of 10th January 2024. The court characterised the attempt to reintroduce the excluded documents as trying to sneak one past the goalkeeper, and mulcted the Claimant in costs of Kshs. 5,000 payable to the Respondent's Counsel within seven days, plus Kshs. 1,500 for the adjourned hearing. The Claimant was ordered to file a duly paginated and bound copy of the permitted exhibits. The claimant's case was fixed for hearing on 14th October 2024, to be listed as part-heard absent objection, with a warning of further sanctions for non-compliance. No authorities or statutes are cited in the ruling.

Key legal issues

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01

Admissibility of documents excluded by a prior ruling

Holding

Only the documents expressly permitted by Radido J.'s ruling of 22nd May 2024 were admitted; the remaining documents (CV, pay slips of the store keeper, and the Claimant's listed documents of 10th January 2024) remained inadmissible

Reasoning

The court treated the Claimant's tender of exhibits 1-18 during testimony as an attempt to reintroduce documents previously excluded. It confined the exhibits to those within the earlier ruling, ordered a paginated and bound set to be filed, and imposed costs to deter the attempt, warning of further sanctions for non-compliance.

p. 1
02

Case management and sanctions for non-compliance

Holding

The Claimant was given a compliance deadline with the hearing set for 14th October 2024, with further sanctions threatened on failure to comply with filing and payment orders

Reasoning

The court exercised its case-management discretion by fixing a hearing date, requiring a paginated and bound exhibit bundle, imposing immediate costs of Kshs. 5,000 and Kshs. 1,500, and reserving further sanctions for the next hearing date if the orders were breached.

p. 1

Legal principles established

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  • A party may not tender documents excluded by an earlier admissibility ruling; doing so attracts costs and case-management sanctions

Court orders

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  1. 1.Only the exhibits permitted by the ruling of Radido J. (records for cumulative breakdown of blank binding wire, diesel records and breakdown, programmes of works and the demand letter) were received in evidence
  2. 2.The Claimant to file a duly paginated and bound copy of the exhibits permitted
  3. 3.The Claimant to pay the Respondent's Counsel costs of Kshs. 5,000/- within 7 days for the attempt to admit excluded documents
  4. 4.The Claimant to pay Kshs. 1,500/- for the adjourned hearing
  5. 5.Claimant's case to be heard on 14th October 2024, to be listed as part-heard if no objection
  6. 6.Further sanctions to issue on 14th October 2024 if the Claimant fails to comply with the filing or payment orders
Jurisdiction invoked
Not stated in the judgment (inherent case-management powers of the trial court over admissibility of exhibits and conduct of the claimant's case)

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, "Okudho v SS Mehta & Sons Limited (Cause E055 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 2330 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/2330/eng@2024-09-23

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