Kenya County Government Workers’ Union v County Public Service Board of Machakos (Cause 62 of 2016) [2025] KEELRC 42 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court voided a Machakos County promotion made without proper County Public Service Board authority, while confirming the employee couldn't be returned to her former county.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether Dinah Mwikali Nyamai was lawfully appointed as Assistant Director - Human Resource Management, Job Group P, by the Machakos County Public Service Board
- 2.Whether her release back to Makueni County by the County Secretary on 11th June 2015 was lawful
- 3.Whether she is entitled to the declarations, reinstatement, salary arrears and six months' compensation sought
Key legal issues
#Validity of the appointment of Dinah Mwikali Nyamai as Assistant Director HRM (JG P)
The appointment was made without the requisite qualifications and without the authority of the County Public Service Board and is null and void
The court noted the appointment letter of 9/10/2014 was signed by the Secretary of the Machakos County Public Service Board on the Board's letterhead, but found that the promotion skipped job groups and was made without advertisement, without the claimant applying, without Board approval and without the required qualifications. The Board has the exclusive mandate to hire, promote, discipline and fire county staff, so the promotion was a nullity.
Lawfulness of the County Secretary's release of the claimant back to Makueni County
Once the claimant accepted the Machakos appointment and was on its payroll, the respondent could not return her to Makueni County
The court observed that as at 15/10/2014 the claimant had accepted the appointment of Assistant Director HRM and had become an employee of Machakos County; the release letter of 11/6/2015 was written by the County Secretary on his own letterhead. However, the court did not order any relief premised on this finding, as the underlying appointment was itself held void.
Legal principles established
#- Once an employee accepts an appointment by a county public service board and is absorbed into a county's payroll, the county cannot unilaterally return the employee to the former county
- Appointments and promotions in county public service must be made by, or with the authority of, the County Public Service Board; appointments made without such authority and without the requisite qualifications are null and void
Court orders
#- 1.The claimant's appointment/promotion to the position of Human Resource Management JG 'P' was found to be null and void
- 2.The claim for salary arrears on the elevated position was dismissed as untenable
- 3.Each party to bear their own costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over trade disputes (dispute reported to the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and conciliated), under the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act and the Labour Relations Act; not expressly cited in the judgment
Relief refused
#Salary arrears on the Assistant Director (JG P) position
The appointment to the higher post was made without qualifications and without the authority of the County Public Service Board, hence null and void; arrears on it are untenable
Reinstatement to the position of Assistant Director - Human Resource Management
Impliedly refused as the appointment was held null and void; no reinstatement order was made
Six months' compensation for loss of earnings
No order for compensation was made; the claim for arrears was dismissed
Costs
Each party will bear their own costs
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
I find that indeed the claimant was rightly appointed to the position of HRM JG “P” without qualification and without the authority of County Public Service Board which has the mandate to hire, promote, discipline and fire stafi.
The claim by the claimant to be paid salary arrears on the elevated position is also found untenable and dismissed. Given that the mistake of promoting the claimant to a higher post was not a mistake of their own doing, each party will bear their own costs.
The claimant as at 15/10/2014 was now an employee of the county Government of Machakos when she accepted the appointment of Assistant Director HRM.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment does not state the suit/case number or a neutral citation anywhere in the text provided, so neither can be recorded
The judgment does not set out the claimant union's full registered name in the text provided; the memorandum of claim is only described, not named
The respondent's witness refers to herself as serving 'the 2nd Respondent', implying multiple respondents, yet only one respondent (County Government of Machakos) is described elsewhere in the judgment
The judgment's finding that the claimant was 'rightly appointed' appears to be a typographical contradiction of the court's own conclusion that the appointment was without qualification and authority and therefore null and void
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Kenya County Government Workers’ Union v County Public Service Board of Machakos (Cause 62 of 2016) [2025] KEELRC 42 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment as provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/42/eng@2025-01-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.