Matete v Technical University of Kenya; Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Interested Party) (Cause E901 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2502 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court ruled that pending employment proceedings cannot stop EACC from investigating the same employee's conduct.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether an interlocutory injunction could issue to restrain EACC investigations
No - the Claimant disclosed no right threatened with violation and no irreparable damage
The claim is a pure employment dispute over the disciplinary process, while the EACC is exercising its constitutional and statutory mandate to investigate ethical violations by public officers. The two processes are distinct. The Claimant did not show how the investigations would interfere with the proceedings or compromise their integrity, and there has been no EACC determination amounting to interference.
Whether the EACC should be joined as an interested party
No - the EACC has no identifiable stake in the employment proceedings
An interested party must have an identifiable stake or legal interest in the proceedings. Since the EACC's summons were issued in exercise of its own investigative mandate and the processes are distinct, the Claimant failed to demonstrate that the EACC would be affected by the Court's decision in the employment claim.
Legal principles established
#- The three-part Giella test for interlocutory injunctions must be satisfied sequentially
- EACC investigations under its constitutional and statutory mandate and pending employment proceedings arising from the same facts are distinct processes
Court orders
#- 1.The orders sought in the Notice of Motion dated 14th April 2025 are declined
- 2.The Application is dismissed with costs in the cause
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Jurisdiction of the ELRC over employment disputes; interlocutory application under Order 1 Rule 10(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules and Rule 7 of the Constitution of Kenya (Protection of Rights & Fundamental Freedoms) Practice & Procedure Rules 2013
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Matete v Technical University of Kenya; Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Interested Party) (Cause E901 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2502 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 14th April 2025 (ELRC). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2502/eng@2025-09-19
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.