Mwinyihaji v Livingstone t/a Mara River Lodge Limited & another (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E006 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1728 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment and Labour Relations Court at Nakuru allowed an employer to appeal out of time because it explained the delay and offered a bank guarantee to protect the employee.
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 application before this Honourable Court is merited, i.e. whether leave should be granted to file the Notice of Appeal out of time
Key legal issues
#Whether the delay in lodging the Notice of Appeal should be excused and leave granted under Order 50 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules
Leave was granted. The court applied the Salat principles on extension of time, found the delay not excessive given the explanation that instructions to appeal had not been received, and noted that prejudice to the Respondent had been mitigated by a consent to deposit a bank guarantee of Kshs.1,335,000/=.
The court recited Order 50 Rule 6 and the Salat principles: extension of time is an equitable remedy, the applicant bears the burden of explaining the delay, and prejudice to the respondent must be considered. The applicant's advocate explained the delay by absence of instructions; once instructions were received, the application and Notice of Appeal were filed promptly on 4th December 2024. The parties' consent of 18th March 2025 providing a bank guarantee mitigated any prejudice, satisfying the court that the discretion should be exercised in the applicant's favour.
Legal principles established
#- The principles for extension of time set out by the Supreme Court in Salat v IEBC apply to applications to enlarge time for filing a Notice of Appeal, and the court's power under Order 50 Rule 6 may be exercised after the prescribed time has lapsed.
Court orders
#- 1.Leave granted to the Applicant to file the Notice of Appeal out of time against the judgment delivered on 18th September 2024
- 2.The Notice of Appeal deemed as duly filed and served
- 3.The Record of Appeal to be filed within 60 days from the date of the ruling
- 4.Costs of the application to be on the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 50 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules; Sections 3, 3A and 95 of the Civil Procedure Act
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.
The court therefore is obliged to grant the prayers as per the Applicant’s Notice of Motion dated 4th December 2024.
The Record of Appeal to be filed within 60 days from today’s date.
Costs of the application will be on the cause.
The delay was not excessive in any case.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment records two different delivery dates for the judgment under appeal: 18th September 2024 in the applicant's affidavit and the court's own finding, but 10th September 2024 in the respondent's submissions, which also computed the delay as 'more than 60 days'.
The judgment does not name the parties by their actual names in the cause title; the parties are referred to only by their procedural designations, making the case title uncertain.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Mwinyihaji v Livingstone t/a Mara River Lodge Limited & another (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E006 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1728 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 4th December 2024 (arising from Nakuru ELRC Cause No. E006 of 2022). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1728/eng@2025-06-13
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.