Skip to content
AI-generated case briefs sourced from Kenya Law · Not legal advice
Caselaw
AI-generated case brief
Case Brief · caselaw.co.ke
ELRCDismissedNotice of Motion dated 23rd January 2025 (arising from ELRC Cause No. 2252 of 2015)· [2025] KEELRC 2439 (KLR)

Njuguna v National Construction Authority (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 2252 of 2015) [2025] KEELRC 2439 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
18 September 2025
HWHellen Wasilwa
2,112 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~8 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

#

Interest earned on court-awarded money held in a joint account must be shared between the parties in proportion to their awards, not kept by one side.

What this practically means

#

Executive summary

#
The Respondent/Applicant, a public entity, filed a Notice of Motion dated 23rd January 2025 seeking release to itself of all interest accrued on the decretal sum deposited in a joint interest earning account in the names of the parties' advocates, as a condition for stay of execution imposed on 19th July 2019. It argued it was the successful party on appeal, the Court of Appeal having on 6th October 2023 set aside the trial judgment and ordered payment of only Kshs 5,979,435.88 (the trial award of Kshs 6,427,435.88 less Kshs 448,000 in lieu of one month's notice), and that the accrued interest comprised public funds accountable under Articles 10, 225, 226 and 232 of the Constitution. The Claimant/Respondent opposed, asserting equitable beneficial ownership of the interest on the sum held in trust, and alternatively sought apportionment in the ratio of the award, relying on Peter Baraza Rabado v Nation Newspapers and Mbonika v G4S Security Limited. The court found the confirmed sum was due to the claimant but delayed pending the appeal, so the accrued interest could not be claimed in full by the applicant. Following Mbonika, the court directed that the interest be shared in the ratio of the award, the claimant taking interest on Kshs 5,979,435.88 and the respondent on Kshs 448,000, with costs of the application to the claimant.

Key legal issues

#
01

Entitlement to interest accrued on a decretal sum held in a joint interest earning account as a condition for stay pending appeal

Holding

The party who partially succeeded on appeal cannot claim all the accrued interest; the interest follows the parties' respective entitlements to the principal award

Reasoning

The Court of Appeal reduced the award from Kshs 6,427,435.88 to Kshs 5,979,435.88, confirming the claimant as principal beneficiary. Since the decretal sum was held in trust in the joint account pending the appeal outcome, the interest accrued should be apportioned in the same ratio as the parties' success on the principal sum. The court adopted the approach in Mbonika v G4S Security Ltd.

p. 4

Legal principles established

#
  • Interest earned on a decretal sum deposited in a joint interest earning account pending appeal should be shared between the parties in the ratio and percentage of the award, rather than claimed in full by the party who succeeded on appeal.

Court orders

#
  1. 1.The interest earned in the joint interest earning account to be shared out in the ratio of the award, with the claimant getting interest on Kshs 5,979,435.88 and the respondent getting interest on Kshs 448,000/-
  2. 2.Costs of the application to the respondent/claimant
Jurisdiction invoked
Original and supervisory jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over its own decrees and conditions for stay of execution

Key timeline

#

Practical implications

#

Frequently asked questions

#

Cite this brief

#

Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Njuguna v National Construction Authority (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 2252 of 2015) [2025] KEELRC 2439 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 23rd January 2025 (arising from ELRC Cause No. 2252 of 2015). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2439/eng@2025-09-18

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