Harun v Watu Credit Limited (Cause E1054 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 2542 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employer lost an unfair termination case because it couldn't prove its redundancy with real evidence like a board resolution or restructuring plan.
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 Claimant was discriminated against
- 2.Whether the Claimant's contract of service was improperly terminated
- 3.Whether the Claimant is entitled to the reliefs which he seeks through this action
Key legal issues
#Whether the Claimant was discriminated against on the basis of race
The claim failed; the Claimant did not establish a prima facie case of discrimination.
Discrimination on grounds including race is prohibited by article 27 of the Constitution and section 5 of the Employment Act. Under section 5(7) the employer bears the burden of disproving discrimination, but the employee must first lay preliminary material establishing a prima facie case. The Claimant conceded he had no evidence of comparators; the salary adjustment alone did not demonstrate that the correction was prompted by discriminatory underpayment relative to Caucasian colleagues.
Whether the termination on account of redundancy was for a valid reason
The Respondent failed to prove the reason for the alleged redundancy.
Under section 40 of the Employment Act an employer must demonstrate valid justification for redundancy. Beyond bare assertions of organizational restructuring, the Respondent produced no data, board resolution, or new organogram supporting the alleged abolition of the Claimant's position. The email from the Respondent's officer asking the Claimant to resume duty after the redundancy notice lapsed fortified the conclusion that the position was not in fact abolished.
Whether the redundancy notice complied with procedural requirements
The notice was defective for failing to state the extent of the proposed redundancy with certainty.
While an employer need not name affected employees at the notice stage, following Maraga JA in Kenya Airways, it must indicate which departments or roles may be impacted. The notice to the Claimant spoke only of elimination or alteration of various positions and roles, unlike the labour office notice, and did not disclose that the Human Resource role would be affected.
What reliefs the Claimant is entitled to
Compensation of two months' salary (Ksh. 1,600,000.00) awarded since terminal dues had already been paid.
Although the termination was irregular, the Respondent had paid all redundancy benefits including severance, notice pay, and accrued leave. Balancing the irregularity against the full payment of terminal benefits, the court awarded the equivalent of two months' salary as compensation for unfair termination, with interest and costs.
Legal principles established
#- An employee alleging workplace discrimination bears the preliminary evidential burden of establishing a prima facie case before the employer is called upon to disprove discriminatory treatment
- A withdrawn redundancy notice is extinguished and has no legal effect in subsequent proceedings
- An employer must, in a redundancy notice, disclose the extent of the proposed redundancy with a measure of certainty, even if it does not name the affected employees
- An employer asserting redundancy must prove the operational reasons, such as restructuring, with evidence such as a board resolution or new organogram, failing which the reason remains unproven
Court orders
#- 1.Declaration that the Respondent improperly terminated the Claimant's contract of service on account of redundancy
- 2.Award of compensation for unfair termination of Ksh. 1,600,000.00
- 3.Interest on the awarded amount at court rates from the date of the decision
- 4.The amount awarded is subject to applicable statutory deductions
- 5.Costs of the case awarded to the Claimant
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act (first-instance employment cause)
Relief refused
#Claim for discrimination
The Claimant failed to present preliminary material establishing a prima facie case of discrimination
Costs
The court awards the Claimant costs of the suit.
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 awards the Claimant compensation for unfair termination of his contract of service in the sum of Ksh. 1,600,000.00.
The court finds that the Respondent improperly terminated the Claimant's contract of service on account of redundancy.
The court awards the Claimant interest on the amount awarded at court rates from the date of this decision.
Once the Respondent withdrew the redundancy notice dated 30th November 2023, it [the notice] ceased to exist. As such, it was extinguished and has no legal efiect in the current proceedings.
Absent evidence of the new organogram and absent evidence that the Respondent's Board of Directors passed a resolution to restructure and do away with the Claimant's position, assertions that the position was done away with remain unproven.
The fact that the Claimant was granted a salary adjustment is not of itself evidence of discrimination.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment states the appointment commencement date differs between the pleadings and the appointment letter itself
The email evidence is undated, and its date of dispatch rests only on the Claimant's assertion
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Harun v Watu Credit Limited (Cause E1054 of 2023) [2025] KEELRC 2542 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment text provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2542/eng@2025-09-25
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.