Chief Officer - Department of Education, Culture & Social Services & another v Sonye (Appeal E047 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 239 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court threw out an officer's Kshs.661,800 award because he sued before finishing internal disciplinary appeals — courts must be the last resort.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Exhaustion of internal dispute resolution mechanisms before instituting suit
The trial court ought to have struck out or stayed the respondent's suit, which was filed prematurely while review before the County Public Service Board and appeal to the PSC were still pending; no exceptional circumstances justified bypassing those mechanisms.
The court found from the record that the respondent had applied for review by the County Public Service Board, was heard on 19th August 2020, and the summary dismissal was lifted and substituted with other sanctions. The original plaint dated 17th March 2020 predated the conclusion and communication of the disciplinary process. Section 77 of the County Government Act and Section 9 of the Fair Administrative Action Act prescribed mandatory internal remedies, and the Karume principle required those procedures to be strictly followed.
Interference with the trial court's exercise of discretion
The trial court misdirected itself by hearing the suit while internal processes were at an advanced stage, occasioning injustice to the appellants, justifying appellate interference and setting aside of the judgment.
Applying the Mbogo v Shah principles, the court held the trial judge failed to take into consideration the reality that internal dispute resolution processes were ongoing. The dismissal was subsequently lifted and half salary paid, so no compensation was due; Section 49(1)(c) of the Employment Act applies only where the employment relationship has ended, which it had not.
Entitlement to compensation under Section 49(1)(c) of the Employment Act
Compensation under Section 49(1)(c) is unavailable because the summary dismissal was lifted and the employment relationship did not end.
Although the respondent was summarily dismissed following the County Human Resource Advisory Committee's recommendation of 31st October 2019, the County Public Service Board on review heard him on 19th August 2020, lifted the dismissal and imposed other penalties including demotion. Half salary had also been paid. The statutory precondition for maximum compensation — termination of employment — was therefore absent.
Legal principles established
#- Where a dispute resolution mechanism exists outside the courts, it must be exhausted before the court's jurisdiction is invoked; courts are a forum of last resort
- The doctrine of exhaustion of remedies postpones, but does not deny, access to judicial redress
- An appellate court will not interfere with the exercise of discretion by an inferior court unless the decision is clearly wrong, based on misdirection or failure to consider relevant matters
- A first appellate court must re-evaluate the evidence afresh and draw its own conclusions, making due allowance for not having seen or heard the witnesses
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is allowed
- 2.The judgment in Rongo Employment and Labour Relations Court No. 1 of 2020 dated 4th August, 2024 is set aside in its entirety
- 3.Parties shall bear their own costs of this appeal
- On appeal from
- Rongo Employment and Labour Relations Court (Principal Magistrate's Court)
- Rongo Employment and Labour Relations Court No. 1 of 2020
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appellate jurisdiction under the Employment Act / Employment and Labour Relations Court Act over appeals from the trial magistrate's court (not expressly cited)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Chief Officer - Department of Education, Culture & Social Services & another v Sonye (Appeal E047 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 239 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Appeal No E047 of 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/239/eng@2025-01-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.