Mbarire v Kenya Airways Limited (Cause 2399 of 2017) [2025] KEELRC 1492 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Employment Court dismissed a worker's bid to have his award clarified, ruling that once you file an appeal in Kenya, you cannot ask the same court to review its judgment.
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 filing of a Notice of Appeal by both parties barred an application for review/clarification of the judgment
- 2.Whether the Court could review and clarify the Award and tabulate the sums awarded as benefits
Key legal issues
#Effect of filing a Notice of Appeal on a right to seek review
Once both parties had lodged Notices of Appeal, it was not open to them to return to the Court to seek review of the judgment.
The Court noted that the Respondent lodged a Notice of Appeal on 6 March 2024 and the Claimant on 14 March 2024. Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act read with Order 45 Rule 1 restricts the right to review where an appeal has been preferred. Filing a Notice of Appeal therefore precluded the review/clarification sought.
Scope of the Court's review jurisdiction in tabulating benefits
The Court could not tabulate the benefits claimed, as that would require examining evidence and contractual records not produced in the suit.
The Claimant asserted that on normal termination he was entitled to all dues until retirement. Determining that entitlement would require an examination of the evidence and perhaps contractual records that were never produced in evidence. Such an inquiry falls outside the narrow scope of review jurisdiction under section 80.
Legal principles established
#- The right of a party to seek a review is restricted where an appeal has been preferred against the judgment.
Court orders
#- 1.The Motion dated 5 June 2024 is dismissed with costs to the Respondent
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Review jurisdiction under section 80 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 Rule 1
Relief refused
#Review and clarification of the Award made on 4 March 2024
The right to seek review is restricted where an appeal has been preferred; both parties lodged Notices of Appeal
Tabulation of the sums awarded to the Claimant as benefits
Tabulating benefits would require examining evidence and contractual records not produced, going beyond the review jurisdiction
Costs
The Motion is dismissed with costs to the Respondent
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.
It is not open to them to come back to this Court to seek a review of the judgment.
such an exercise would be a venture outside the scope of the Court’s review jurisdiction.
The Motion dated 5 June 2024 is found without merit and is dismissed with costs.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment references an original judgment of 4 March 2024 but its case number, title and citation are not stated, so the underlying suit cannot be identified from this extract
The declassified record shows the Motion sought review/clarification, but the numbered orders in the Motion (i and ii at paragraph 2) are elided in the text
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mbarire v Kenya Airways Limited (Cause 2399 of 2017) [2025] KEELRC 1492 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1492/eng@2025-05-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.