Lachlan Kenya Ltd. v Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services; Lusaka (Interested Party) (Petition E027 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2445 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employer lost its bid to overturn a Kshs 14.6 million work injury award because it objected months late and repeated arguments the court had already rejected.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Res judicata and abuse of process
The due process and rights-violation concerns in the Petition had already been determined in the Ruling in Nairobi ELRC Misc Application No. E265 of 2023; re-raising them in constitutional form was res judicata and an abuse of process
The Interested Party had moved to enforce the Director's award and the Petitioner opposed adoption on the very same grounds now pleaded in the Petition. The Court had considered those objections in a Ruling delivered on 13 March 2025, finding the accident was reported through the online platform, notification was sent by email, no objection was lodged within 60 days, and no admissible evidence of forgery was placed before the Court. Dressing the same complaints in constitutional garb could not evade that determination.
Fair administrative action / due process
In the alternative, the Petitioner's right to fair administrative action was not violated because it knew of the accident and award, participated through insurers, and only objected months outside the 60-day statutory window
The Petitioner knew of the accident on 19 September 2022; its insurers paid medical reimbursement of Kshs 236,810/58 and commissioned second and third medical evaluations; the Director notified it of the award by email on 28 September 2022. The first objection under section 51(1) came only on 6 May 2024, far outside the prescribed 60 days, and the Director properly rejected it as out of time on 10 December 2024. The assertions of violation were therefore misplaced.
Legal principles established
#- Issues already determined by the court cannot be re-litigated with a constitutional colouring; doing so is res judicata and an abuse of process
- An objection to a work injury award under section 51(1) of the Work Injury Benefits Act must be lodged within the prescribed 60 days of notification of the award
Court orders
#- 1.The Petition is dismissed with costs to the Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Constitution of Kenya, Article 47 (fair administrative action) and the Work Injury Benefits Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Lachlan Kenya Ltd. v Director of Occupational Safety and Health Services; Lusaka (Interested Party) (Petition E027 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2445 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Petition (number not stated in judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2445/eng@2025-09-18
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.