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ELRCDismissedNot stated in the judgment as provided· [2025] KEELRC 1220 (KLR)

Dima v Kenya National Trading Corporation Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E211 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1220 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
30 April 2025
HWHellen Wasilwa
1,699 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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·~7 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Employment Court dismissed a bid to halt a job appointment revocation because the revocation had already happened, leaving nothing for interim orders to stop.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Applicant, who had been recruited and appointed by the Respondent as Business Development Manager, KNTC 3 on a five-year contract commencing 1st January 2025, moved the court by Notice of Motion dated 19th December 2024 seeking conservatory orders suspending the Respondent's decision, communicated by email of 17th December 2024, revoking his appointment. The application was anchored on Article 23(3)(a) of the Constitution and Rule 23 of the Mutunga Rules. The Applicant argued that the revocation amounted to unfair termination infringing his rights to dignity, fair labour practices and fair administrative action, and that he had a prima facie case, having resigned from Vernadsky Investment Limited and relocated from Mombasa to Nairobi in reliance on the appointment. He relied on Gatirau Peter Munya v Dickson Mwenda Kithinji on the test for conservatory orders. The Respondent, through a replying affidavit of Maureen Dwallo, opposed the application, contending that the recruitment required mandatory qualifications, that the Applicant's certificates from the Institute of Economic Affairs contained conflicting validity dates raising authenticity concerns, and that the revocation was lawful to safeguard the integrity of the recruitment process. The court did not resolve these contested issues, holding that the application sought to stop an appointment that had already been revoked and was therefore overtaken by events. The application was found unmerited and disallowed, with the petitioner directed to proceed with the main petition and costs reserved to the petition.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether conservatory orders could issue to suspend a revocation decision that had already been made and communicated

Holding

The application was dismissed as moot because the revocation had already occurred; there was nothing left to suspend pending hearing

Reasoning

The court observed that the motion sought to stop an appointment which had already been revoked by the email of 17th December 2024. Since the injurious decision was already in place, the conservatory orders sought (whether pending inter partes hearing, determination of the application, or the Petition) could not serve any practical purpose. The application was therefore overtaken by events, found unmerited, and disallowed, with the petitioner left to pursue the substantive Petition.

p. 4

Legal principles established

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  • An interlocutory application seeking conservatory orders that would preserve a state of affairs already reversed cannot stand, being overtaken by events; such an application is unmerited and should be disallowed

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Notice of Motion dated 19th December 2024 seeking conservatory orders is disallowed as unmerited
  2. 2.The petitioner to proceed with the main petition
  3. 3.Costs in the petition
Jurisdiction invoked
Article 23(3)(a) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and Rule 23 of the Constitution of Kenya (Protection of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) Practice and Procedure Rules, 2013 (Mutunga Rules)

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, "Dima v Kenya National Trading Corporation Limited (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E211 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1220 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment as provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1220/eng@2025-04-30

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