Shiamala v Kenya National Private Security Workers Union & another; Kenya National Private Security Workers Union, Nairobi County Branch (Interested Party) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 1178 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 2818 (KLR)
The bottom line
#An employer's attempt to reopen a lost unfair dismissal case failed because it waited about two years after judgment to ask for review.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether discovery of a lower court criminal conviction amounts to new and important matter for review
Even assuming the conviction judgment was new, the application fails because it was not brought within reasonable time.
The court set out the Rule 74 grounds for review, including discovery of new and important matter not producible despite due diligence. The magistrate's judgment had been delivered on 17th January 2023, before this court's judgment of 8th December 2023, yet the applicants did not seek review until January 2025. The delay of about two years, unexplained, was dispositive against the application.
Whether there is a nexus between the criminal conviction and the findings on unfair termination
The court found no correlation between the magistrate's judgment and its own judgment, which turned on the fairness test under the Employment Act.
The claimant argued the judgment rested on procedural fairness findings, not merely on absence of proof of theft. The court agreed there was no demonstrated connection between the criminal conviction and the findings that the termination did not pass the fairness test. The alleged new evidence was therefore neither relevant nor important in the circumstances.
Legal principles established
#- An application for review under Rule 74 of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules, 2024 must be brought within reasonable time; inordinate and unexplained delay is itself a sufficient ground to refuse review even where new evidence is alleged.
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 17th January 2025 seeking review of the judgment of 8th December 2023 and stay of execution is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application awarded to the Claimant/Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules, 2024, Rule 74 (review jurisdiction); Section 80 Civil Procedure Act and Order 45 Civil Procedure Rules cited
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Shiamala v Kenya National Private Security Workers Union & another; Kenya National Private Security Workers Union, Nairobi County Branch (Interested Party) (Employment and Labour Relations Cause 1178 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 2818 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment (Employment and Labour Relations Court, Nairobi; ruling on Notice of Motion dated 17th January 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2818/eng@2025-10-21
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.