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ELRCDismissedJudicial Review Application (Motion dated 26th November 2024)· [2025] KEELRC 1303 (KLR)

Abdi v Garissa County Public Service Board & another (Employment and Labour Relations Judicial Review E049 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1303 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
7 May 2025
HWHellen Wasilwa
820 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~3 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Applicant moved the Court by Notice of Motion dated 26th November 2024 seeking an order of prohibition restraining the Respondents from acting on or proceeding with the process following interviews for County Administrators and Deputy County Administrators conducted between 16th and 20th September 2024, plus costs. The dispute arose from the fallout of Constitutional Petition ELRCPET E205 of 2022, in which 1,054 aggrieved employees challenged their dismissal; the Court had ordered PSC verification, whose 25th September 2023 report found the employees (save one) not lawfully employed. That report was upheld on 7th December 2023, the employees' employment was terminated, and the positions declared vacant. The Applicant contended the fresh recruitment violated reinstatement orders in ELRC No. E205 of 2022, pending appeal in Civil Application E068 of 2024, and was marred by nepotism and favouritism. The Respondents, through a replying affidavit sworn by County Secretary Mohamud Mursal, countered that the application was overtaken by events - interviews concluded on 20th September 2024 and appointment letters issued - that prohibition cannot undo an implemented decision, that no reinstatement or restraining orders existed, and that any contempt should be raised in the file that issued the orders. The Court agreed that the proper forum for alleged breaches of the orders in Petition E205 of 2022 is that same file, and found the application unmerited and overtaken by events per the Court's orders of 19th September 2024. The judicial review application was dismissed with no order of costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether prohibition could issue against the impugned recruitment process

Holding

Application dismissed; orders not merited as they were overtaken by events, the interviews having concluded and appointments issued

Reasoning

The court noted the interviews concluded on 20th September 2024 and successful applicants were recruited with appointment letters. Further, the claim that aggrieved employees were reinstated in ELRC Petition E205 of 2022 meant any alleged breach or contempt of that court's orders had to be raised in that same file, not via a fresh judicial review application.

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02

Proper forum for alleged contempt/breach of orders in ELRC Petition E205 of 2022

Holding

The same file in which the orders were issued is the proper forum

Reasoning

The court reasoned that the applicant's grievance rested on alleged reinstatement orders in Petition E205 of 2022. Any breach or contempt of those orders must be raised before the court that issued them; instituting a fresh judicial review application was the wrong procedural route.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • An order of prohibition cannot issue in vain to stop a decision already made and implemented
  • Alleged breach or contempt of a court's orders should be ventilated in the same file in which the orders were issued

Court orders

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  1. 1.The judicial review application is dismissed
  2. 2.No order of costs (each party bears own costs)
Jurisdiction invoked
Original judicial review jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (order of prohibition)

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, "Abdi v Garissa County Public Service Board & another (Employment and Labour Relations Judicial Review E049 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1303 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Judicial Review Application (Motion dated 26th November 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1303/eng@2025-05-07

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