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ELRCAllowedNot stated in the excerpt· [2025] KEELRC 1804 (KLR)

Ramogi v Great Lakes University of Kisumu; Odhiambo t/a Jenks Auctioneers (Interested Party) (Cause 2 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1804 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
19 June 2025
645 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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Kenya's Employment Court confirmed it can fix clerical and arithmetic mistakes in its own rulings after judgment, and corrected sums in a debt execution dispute.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Applicant moved the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kisumu seeking review of the Court's orders of 18th February 2025 on the ground of errors apparent on the face of the record, said to be typographical and arithmetical. The Judgment Debtor and the Interested Party (the Auctioneer) opposed the motion, contending that the Court was functus officio, that there was no error on the face of the record, that the Applicant's real grievance was with the Court's substantive findings, and that the application was filed after inordinate delay, apparently to substitute for a time-barred appeal, and was therefore misconceived and an abuse of process. The Interested Party emphasised that the Ruling had correctly found it in breach of the law in undertaking the execution. Relying on Rule 75 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure Rules) 2024, which empowers the Court to rectify clerical mistakes, incidental errors or omissions on its own motion in addition to review under Rule 74, the Court held that it was not functus officio. It found a fundamental typographical error in the date of the decree, recorded as 2nd November 2022 instead of 22nd November 2022, correctable even without an application under the slip rule. It also found the sums in the Ruling erroneous: the balance after deducting the auction proceeds of the pick-up was Kshs. 264,986/-, and the Interested Party was to refund Kshs. 340,000/-. The Court granted the motion with no order as to costs.

Key legal issues

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01

Functus officio and the slip rule

Holding

The Court is not functus officio; Rule 75 confers a power to rectify clerical mistakes in addition to review under Rule 74, and the Court may act on its own motion.

Reasoning

Rule 75 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure Rules) 2024 permits the Court, at the request of parties or on its own motion, to cause any clerical mistake, incidental error or omission to be rectified. This power exists in addition to review under Rule 74. Because that corrective power remains available after judgment, the objections by the Judgment Debtor and the Interested Party that the Court was functus officio failed, and the typographical error in the decree date could be corrected even without an application.

p. 2
02

Errors apparent on the face of the record

Holding

The Ruling of 18th February 2025 contained a typographical error in the decree date (2nd instead of 22nd November 2022) and arithmetical errors in the decretal sums, both amenable to correction.

Reasoning

The Court found that the correct date of the decree was 22nd November 2022 and that the sums indicated in the Ruling were wrong: the balance owed after deducting the auction proceeds of the pick-up was Kshs. 264,986/-, and the Interested Party was required to refund Kshs. 340,000/-. These were treated as arithmetical errors apparent on the face of the record, not a challenge to the Court's substantive findings, and were therefore correctable.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • A court retains power to rectify clerical mistakes, incidental errors or omissions notwithstanding that it has delivered judgment, so it is not functus officio.
  • A court may correct clerical errors on its own motion under the slip rule even without an application by a party.

Court orders

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  1. 1.Correction of the typographical error in the date of the decree from 2nd November 2022 to 22nd November 2022
  2. 2.Correction of the arithmetical errors in the sums stated in the Ruling: the balance after deducting the auction proceeds of the pick-up being Kshs. 264,986/-, and the refund of Kshs. 340,000/- by the Interested Party
  3. 3.No order as to costs
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure Rules) 2024, Rules 74 and 75 (review and slip rule)

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, "Ramogi v Great Lakes University of Kisumu; Odhiambo t/a Jenks Auctioneers (Interested Party) (Cause 2 of 2022) [2025] KEELRC 1804 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the excerpt. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1804/eng@2025-06-19

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