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ELRCPartially AllowedELRCA E234 of 2024· [2025] KEELRC 2799 (KLR)

Sana Industries Limited v Violet (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E234 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2799 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
16 October 2025
JKJ. W. Keli
7,660 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~31 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan court allowed a late appeal because the judiciary's e-filing system was down, but only granted a full stay of execution where security was offered.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The applicant, aggrieved by a judgment of Hon. Noelle Kyanya delivered on 18th June 2025 in Ruiru Chief Magistrate's Court MCELRC E071 of 2024 awarding the respondent Kshs 622,080.00, moved the court by Notice of Motion under sections 79G and related provisions of the Civil Procedure Act and Orders 50 and 51 of the Civil Procedure Rules, seeking leave to appeal out of time and stay of execution. The application was supported by the affidavit of Agnes Kagwiria and opposed by the respondent's replying affidavit, with both sides filing written submissions. The court framed three issues: extension of time, stay of execution, and costs. On extension, the court found the judiciary e-filing (CTS) outage during the filing window to be a sufficiently good reason for the delay, the application having been made on 22nd July 2025, days after the 30-day period expired, and relied on Odero v Republic. On stay, applying Order 42 rule 6(2) through rule 73(2) of the ELRC Rules 2024, the court found no unreasonable delay and substantial risk of loss given the respondent's failure to file an affidavit of means; it accepted motor vehicle KCB 014G, valued at Kshs 1,350,000, as adequate security, conditioned on deposit of the original logbook and non-sale. Leave was extended to four related suits, but the substantive stay was limited to E071 of 2024, with only a 30-day temporary stay for appeals E235, E236 and E237 of 2025 pending deposit of security. Costs were awarded to the respondent. The application was thus partially allowed.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the applicant had good and sufficient cause for filing the appeal out of time

Holding

Yes - the CTS/e-filing outage during the filing window was a sufficiently good reason; the application was filed a few days after expiry of the 30-day period.

Reasoning

Rule 12 of the ELRC Rules 2024 requires appeals from a magistrate's court to be filed within thirty days. The applicant's appeal was late, but the judiciary e-filing outage notices (AK-2) corroborated the reason for delay. The applicant approached the court on 22nd July 2025, days after expiry. Following Odero v Republic, where technical e-filing problems justified extension, the court exercised its discretion under rule 18 to enlarge time.

p. 6
02

Whether conditions for stay of execution pending appeal under Order 42 rule 6(2) were satisfied

Holding

Yes - no unreasonable delay (delay was explained), substantial risk of loss since the respondent did not file an affidavit of means showing ability to refund, and security offered in the form of motor vehicle KCB 014G valued at Kshs 1,350,000 against a decretal sum of Kshs 622,080.

Reasoning

Applying Order 42 rule 6(2) via rule 73(2) of the ELRC Rules 2024, the court found the slight delay explained, and because the decree was a money decree, the respondent's failure to demonstrate ability to refund if the appeal succeeded showed a substantial risk that paid money would be lost, rendering the appeal nugatory. The motor vehicle, backed by a valuation report, was accepted as adequate security with conditions against sale or use as collateral.

p. 11

Legal principles established

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  • An e-filing system outage during the period for filing an appeal constitutes sufficiently good cause for extension of time under the proviso to section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act where the application is made promptly after expiry.
  • A motor vehicle logbook, with a valuation exceeding the decretal sum, may constitute adequate security for due performance of a money decree, provided the original logbook is deposited and the vehicle is not sold or used as collateral.

Court orders

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  1. 1.Leave granted to the applicant to file an appeal out of time against the judgments delivered on 18th June 2025 by Hon. Noelle Kyanya in Ruiru MCELRC E071, E070, E069 and E072 of 2024, with memorandum of appeal to be filed within 30 days
  2. 2.Stay of execution of the judgment and decree issued on 18th June 2025 granted on condition that the original log book of motor vehicle KCB 014G is deposited in court and the applicant does not sell or use the vehicle as collateral, limited to the judgment in Ruiru MCELRC No. E071 of 2024
  3. 3.Temporary stay of 30 days in respect of appeals E235, E236 and E237 of 2025, subject to deposit of security for performance of the decree in those three appeals
  4. 4.Mention on 17th November 2025
  5. 5.Respondent awarded costs of the application
On appeal from
Chief Magistrate's Court, Ruiru
MCELRC E071 of 2024
Jurisdiction invoked
Sections 1A, 1B, 3A, 65 and 79G of the Civil Procedure Act; Order 50 Rules 3 and 5, Order 51 Rules 1, 3 and 4 of the Civil Procedure Rules 2010; Rules 12 and 18 of the ELRC Rules 2024

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Later judgments citing this (1)

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Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.

Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Sana Industries Limited v Violet (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E234 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 2799 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELRCA E234 of 2024. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2799/eng@2025-10-16

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