Agingu v Advtech Kenya Limited t/a Crawford International School & another (Cause 604 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 2762 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court ruled a teacher's dismissal was fair because she hid her previous sacking and inflated her salary during recruitment.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Validity of the reason for termination
The Claimant's non-disclosure of her termination from Oshwal Academy and misrepresentation of her salary were a 'deal-breaker' constituting valid reason under Section 43 of the Employment Act
The court found the Claimant concealed her dismissal from Oshwal Academy and inflated her salary from Kshs. 180,000 to Kshs. 365,000. Relying on Sambu v National Oil Corporation and McKinley v B.C. Tel, it held that dishonesty which undermines the trust inherent in the employment relationship justifies dismissal. The employer therefore had a reason a reasonable employer would act upon.
Procedural fairness of the disciplinary process
The process was procedurally fair: show cause notice was issued, new evidence was disclosed and the hearing adjourned to allow a response
Although the charges ultimately relied upon (dishonesty in recruitment) differed from the initial students' complaints, the court found the new evidence was not remote to the initial allegations. The Claimant was given a show cause notice, informed of the new evidence at the first hearing, and granted an adjournment to 26th October 2018 to respond, satisfying due process.
Defamation claim
The defamation claim failed for lack of clear particulars of the statements complained of
Following John Ward v Standard Limited, the court held that a defamation claim must plead clear particulars of the actual statements. The Claimant did not meet this standard, so the claims against both Respondents were disallowed.
Legal principles established
#- Termination of employment requires both a valid reason and procedural fairness
- Non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts in recruitment can constitute a valid reason for summary dismissal
Court orders
#- 1.The Claimant's entire claim is dismissed with costs to the Respondents
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction under the Employment Act, 2007 (claim for wrongful dismissal and defamation)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Simokaitis & another v Chula (Appeal E118 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2969 (KLR)[2025] KEELRC 2969 (KLR)30 Oct 2025followed
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Agingu v Advtech Kenya Limited t/a Crawford International School & another (Cause 604 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 2762 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Memorandum of Claim dated 9th September 2019 (Employment and Labour Relations Court). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2762/eng@2025-10-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.