Luvayi & 2 others v Kivuvi & another; Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers & another (Interested Parties) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E033 of 2025 & Appeal E206 of 2025 (Consolidated)) [2025] KEELRC 2814 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment and Labour Relations Court upheld a trade union's right to change its leadership without the Registrar hearing the removed official first.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the NEC meeting of 29th May 2025 was properly convened
The meeting was properly convened despite not being called by the General Secretary, since rule 32(b) does not specify a convenor where the General Secretary's own conduct is the subject, and he had refused repeated requests to convene; the notice was served on all NEC members including the Appellant, and the change of venue from Marble Arch Hotel to Tulia Gardens was justified by the Appellant's own letter causing the Hotel to decline admission.
Rule 11(c) vests convening power in the General Secretary, but the Appellant faced accusations and could not be expected to convene a meeting about his own conduct. Repeated requests to him failed. The court found the notice dated 21st May 2025 was sent to all members including the Appellant, who acknowledged it in his letter to the hotel. Relocation was necessitated by the Appellant's interference.
Whether there was quorum at the meeting
Quorum was met: with deductions for incapacitated, deceased and ineligible members, only 18 members were entitled to attend and vote, and the 12 members attending constituted the required two-thirds.
Rule 11(i) requires a quorum of two-thirds of members entitled to attend and vote. The Registrar deponed that of 23 NEC members, the chairman was incapacitated, two were deceased, and others were ineligible as non-paid-up members or retrenched, leaving 18 entitled members; 12 attendees therefore met the two-thirds threshold.
Whether the Registrar acted in accordance with the law in registering the change of officials
The Registrar acted lawfully; section 35 of the Labour Relations Act requires no hearing of affected persons before registering changes on a valid Form Q, and internal disputes have their own remedies under the union constitution and appeal to the ELRC.
Section 35(2)-(5) governs registration of changes of officials on Form Q. The Registrar may require evidence and refuse registration only if not satisfied as to validity or propriety. The court invoked constitutional avoidance, holding the Appellant's fair hearing and fair administrative action claims unnecessary, and noted remedies under rule 32(b)(ii) and section 34(4) of the Act.
Legal principles established
#- The Registrar of Trade Unions has no obligation to hear a person affected before registering a change of officials submitted on a valid Form Q under section 35 of the Labour Relations Act
- Where the union constitution does not specify who convenes a NEC meeting when the General Secretary's conduct is in question, and the General Secretary has declined repeated requests to convene it, the meeting may lawfully be convened by other officials
- Courts should apply the doctrine of constitutional avoidance and resolve disputes on non-constitutional grounds where possible
Court orders
#- 1.Dismissal of the Appellant's appeal against the decision of the Registrar of Trade Unions
- 2.Dismissal of the Claimants' claim, those prayers not resolved by the decision in the appeal not having been proved
- 3.No order as to costs
- On appeal from
- Registrar of Trade Unions
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 34(4) of the Labour Relations Act, 2007 (appeal to the ELRC against decisions of the Registrar of Trade Unions) and the court's employment and labour relations jurisdiction under Article 162(2) of the Constitution
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Luvayi & 2 others v Kivuvi & another; Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers & another (Interested Parties) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause E033 of 2025 & Appeal E206 of 2025 (Consolidated)) [2025] KEELRC 2814 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Cause No. E033 of 2025 (consolidated with the Appeal by Bonface Mutie Kavuvi against the Registrar of Trade Unions). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2814/eng@2025-10-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.