Republic v Commissioner for Co-operatives & another; Gachungwa & 3 others (Exparte) (Suing on behalf of themselves and over Three Hundred and Ninety-five former workers of the defunct Tetu Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited) (Judicial Review E008 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1457 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court struck out a Kshs.27.7 million payment enforcement case because the same workers had already lost the identical claim in 2020 and never appealed.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the suit herein is res judicata
Key legal issues
#Whether the suit is res judicata
Yes; the same parties sought the same mandamus orders which were heard and determined on the merits by Nzioki Makau J on 25th February 2020, and that decision was never appealed
Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act bars trying a matter directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties litigating under the same title before a competent court that heard and finally decided it. The prior judicial review motion was decided on its merits and never challenged on appeal. Relitigating it four years later before the same court is an abuse of process; the remedy was an appeal.
Legal principles established
#- A matter decided on the merits between the same parties cannot be relitigated; the court becomes functus officio and the aggrieved party's remedy is appeal
Court orders
#- 1.The preliminary objection dated 27th November 2024 is allowed
- 2.The entire suit is struck out
- 3.No order as to 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 judicial review applications (ELRC Procedure Rules); original jurisdiction over preliminary objection on res judicata
Relief refused
#Order of mandamus compelling the respondents to pay the decretal sum of Kshs.27,718,055.45 plus interest at 12% per annum
The suit is res judicata, the same relief having been sought and dismissed on the merits in Nyeri ELRC JR No.6 of 2019
Costs
No costs, considering the unfortunate loss of both the employment and the employer (each party to bear their own costs in effect)
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.
Therefore, I allow the preliminary objection and strike out the entire suit but with no costs considering the unfortunate loss of both the employment and the employer.
Any party aggrieved by the said decision ought to have moved to the Court of Appeal to challenge the same. Instead, the applicants went to slumber and woke up after four years to litigate over the same matter before the same court.
The doctrine of res judicata in efiect allows a litigant only one bite of the cherry.
Issues in the judgment
#The parties in the preliminary objection are not individually named in the ruling; only 'the applicants' and 'the respondents' are identified
The judgment refers to the prior decision variously as by 'Nzioki Makau J' and 'Wa Makau J'
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v Commissioner for Co-operatives & another; Gachungwa & 3 others (Exparte) (Suing on behalf of themselves and over Three Hundred and Ninety-five former workers of the defunct Tetu Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Society Limited) (Judicial Review E008 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1457 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Nyeri ELRC JR No.E008 of 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1457/eng@2025-05-15
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.