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ELRCStruck OutPetition (Amended Petition dated 10th April 2025)· [2025] KEELRC 2820 (KLR)

Pawa Africa v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education & 3 others (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E130 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2820 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
21 October 2025
HWHellen Wasilwa
6,540 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~26 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A petition challenging university Vice Chancellors' re-appointments was struck out because the affected universities and alumni associations were never joined as parties.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Petitioner, a civil society organization, filed an Amended Petition dated 10th April 2025 challenging the second-term re-appointment of the Vice Chancellors of Meru University of Science & Technology (MUST) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (JKUAT) without competitive recruitment under Section 39(1)(a) of the Universities Act, and sought wide-ranging declarations including invalidation of the re-appointments, revocation of instructions withholding alumni funds, personal liability for debts incurred, and enforcement powers for the Petitioner. The 1st and 2nd Respondents filed a preliminary objection grounded on want of specificity (Anarita Karimi Njeru), misjoinder, exhaustion of internal mechanisms and abuse of process; the 3rd Respondent objected on jurisdictional and procedural grounds and defended his renewal as lawful under Section 39(3), his Charter and contract clause 13, relying on the Itolondo decisions that re-appointment is not fresh recruitment. The 4th Respondent did not participate, not having been served. The court, Wasilwa J, writing by way of written submissions, did not reach the substantive merits. It found that the allegations of breach concerned MUST, JKUAT, their councils and alumni associations, none of which were parties, so their answers were necessary for a just determination. Given the deficiencies in the pleadings and absence of relevant parties, the court struck out the petition with no order of costs. The judgment leaves the question of whether Section 39(3) permits renewal without competitive recruitment unresolved.

Key legal issues

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01

Misjoinder of parties and causes of action

Holding

The petition was struck out because the universities, university councils and alumni associations against whom breaches were alleged were not joined

Reasoning

The court found that allegations of breaches concerned MUST, JKUAT and their alumni associations, none of which were parties. The 1st and 2nd Respondents argued, and the 3rd Respondent accepted, that only the respective University Councils could answer whether the occupation of office was proper. Without those parties the court could not reach a just and valid position, leaving striking out as the only alternative.

p. 13

Legal principles established

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  • A petition whose proper parties (the universities, their councils and alumni associations) are not joined cannot be justly determined and may be struck out

Court orders

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  1. 1.The petition is struck out
  2. 2.No order of costs
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules, 2024; Articles 10, 73 and 75 of the Constitution as invoked by the Petitioner

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Pawa Africa v Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education & 3 others (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E130 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2820 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Petition (Amended Petition dated 10th April 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2820/eng@2025-10-21

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