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ELRCDismissedELRC PET/E130/2024 (Motion dated 5th November 2024)

Pawa Africa v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education & 3 others (Miscellaneous Application E357 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 851 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
14 March 2025
SRStella Rutto
2,064 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~8 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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The Employment and Labour Relations Court declined to waive filing fees for an NGO because public interest alone doesn't prove an inability to pay.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Applicant, an NGO, filed a Notice of Motion dated 5th November 2024 seeking a waiver of filing fees in respect of Petition No. ELRC PET/E130/2024, a public interest petition challenging the arbitrary appointment of Vice Chancellors of public universities and their interference with university management contrary to the Universities Act 2012. The 1st and 2nd Respondents filed Grounds of Opposition, contending that the Applicant is not a state organ, adduced no evidence of financial incapacity, and had not exhausted the procedure of liaising with the Court's Registrar. The 3rd Respondent, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo, filed a Replying Affidavit and Grounds of Opposition raising the Applicant's failure to prove inability to pay under Rule 81(2) of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules, misjoinder, defective pleading format, and want of territorial jurisdiction. The 4th Respondent did not respond. The court isolated the singular issue of whether waiver of court fees should be granted. Applying Rule 81(2), which permits waiver only where the Court is satisfied that a party lacks sufficient means, Justice Stella Rutto held that the Applicant neither alleged nor proved lack of means, filing no affidavit of means, and that its status as a public interest litigant did not satisfy the rule. The application dated 5th November 2024 was declined with no orders as to costs. The ruling was delivered at Nairobi on 14th March 2025. The substantive petition remains to proceed as filed, subject to any other challenges.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.whether the Court should grant the Applicant waiver of court fees with respect to ELRC Pet. No. E130/2024

Key legal issues

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Whether the Applicant qualified for waiver of court filing fees under Rule 81(2) of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules 2024

Holding

The application was declined because the Applicant never claimed, let alone proved, that it lacked sufficient means to pay the prescribed fees.

Reasoning

Rule 81(2) permits the Court to waive fees only where satisfied that a party does not possess sufficient means. The Applicant's application rested exclusively on the assertion that the substantive Petition is public interest litigation in which it has no personal or financial gain. It filed no affidavit of means or other documentary evidence of financial incapacity, and did not even allege that it lacked means. The statutory precondition was therefore not met.

p. 4

Legal principles established

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  • The primary consideration for waiver of court fees under Rule 81(2) of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules 2024 is proof that the applicant does not possess sufficient means to pay the prescribed fees; public interest litigation status alone does not satisfy the rule.

Court orders

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  1. 1.Application dated 5th November 2024 declined with no orders as to costs

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

SR
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Rule 81(2) of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules, 2024 (waiver of court fees)

Relief refused

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Waiver of filing fees in Petition No. ELRC PET/E130/2024 and direction that the Petition proceed to hearing and determination

The Applicant failed to demonstrate lack of sufficient means as required by Rule 81(2) of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules 2024; it relied solely on public interest rather than proof of financial incapacity.

p. 5

Costs

No orders as to costs

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

My understanding of Rule 81(2) of this Court's Rules, is that the primary consideration by the Court in waiver of court fees is proof that the applicant does not possess suficient means to pay the prescribed fees.
p. 4Test for waiver of court fees under Rule 81(2)
the Applicant has failed to satisfy the condition stipulated under Rule 81(2) of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules 2024, for waiver of court fees.
p. 5Conclusion on waiver
Accordingly, the Application dated 5th November 2024 is declined with no orders as to costs.
p. 5Final orders

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, "Pawa Africa v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education & 3 others (Miscellaneous Application E357 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 851 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELRC PET/E130/2024 (Motion dated 5th November 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/851/eng@2025-03-14

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