Olang’o v Insight Management Consultants Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E139 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 2513 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled the worker's firing was unfair, but his discrimination claim failed because he offered no evidence to support it.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Direct and indirect discrimination
Petitioner failed to prove discrimination; he merely alleged it without supporting evidence, so the burden never shifted to the Respondent
The court applied Article 27 of the Constitution and section 5 of the Employment Act, and the burden-of-proof principles from Gichuru v Package Insurance Brokers and the Evidence Act sections 108 and 109. The claimant bears the initial evidential burden before it shifts. The Petitioner produced no evidence, affidavit or corroborative witness to substantiate allegations of racial discrimination and degrading treatment by his designated manager.
Abscondment of duties
The defence of abscondment was not proved; the Petitioner was unfairly and unprocedurally terminated
An employer pleading abandonment must show reasonable steps to trace the employee, require resumption of duty, and use internal disciplinary channels per section 41 of the Employment Act and Articles 41 and 47 of the Constitution. The Respondent did not demonstrate efforts to put the Petitioner through a disciplinary process, nor inform him of his right to be accompanied at a hearing, so termination was unfair and unprocedural.
Legal principles established
#- An employer alleging desertion must demonstrate efforts to reach the employee and put him on notice of termination proceedings before pleading abandonment as closure of the contract
- Desertion does not itself terminate the employment contract; the decision to end the relationship must come from the employer
Court orders
#- 1.Prayers a, b, c and d of the petition dated 12th July 2023 are not granted as unproven
- 2.One month salary in lieu of notice Kshs 23,010/=
- 3.Salary for days worked in May 2023 Kshs 10,765/=
- 4.Five months equivalent salary for unlawful termination Kshs 115,050/=
- 5.Total award of Kshs 148,816/= plus interest at 14% p.a from date of judgment till full payment
- 6.Costs to the Petitioner
- 7.Certificate of service to be issued within 30 days
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Articles 41, 47 of the Constitution and the Employment Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Olang’o v Insight Management Consultants Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E139 of 2023) [2024] KEELRC 2513 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Petition dated 12th July 2023 (Amended Petition dated 25th August 2023). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/2513/eng@2024-10-11
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.