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ELRCStruck OutMemorandum of Appeal dated 15th December 2025· [2025] KEELRC 3751 (KLR)

Robison Investment Limited v Ongoma (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E090 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 3751 (KLR)

Employment & Labour Relations Court
16 December 2025
JRJames Rika
234 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Employment Court struck out an appeal filed four months late, in the wrong court, and against the wrong party name.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Employment & Labour Relations Court at Nakuru, per James Rika, Judge, delivered a short ex-tempore ruling striking out a Memorandum of Appeal dated 15th December 2025 and an accompanying Application. The Appeal arose from a judgment delivered by the Trial Court (Magistracy) on 8th August 2025. The court identified four defects rendering the Appeal bad in law and incompetent. First, a party-identity discrepancy: the Appeal named Albert Odira Ongoma as Respondent, while the Claimant in the underlying claim was Christiano Oanda Reuben, with no clarity on whether they were the same person or whether substitution had occurred. Secondly, the Memorandum of Appeal and Application were indicated as filed at the High Court of Kenya, an unrelated jurisdiction from the ELRC. Thirdly, the judgment appealed was delivered over 4 months before the Appeal was filed. Fourthly, Rule 14 of the E&LRC [Procedure] Rules, 2024 requires appeals from the Magistracy to be filed within 30 days of the decision, and there was no evidence the Appellant sought or obtained leave to file out of time. The court struck out both the Memorandum of Appeal and the accompanying Application, closed the file, and made no order on costs. No authorities were cited; the ruling rested on the procedural rules and the record itself.

Key legal issues

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01

Identity of the Appellant/Respondent and competence of the Appeal

Holding

The Appeal is bad in law and incompetent because the Respondent named in the Appeal is not the Claimant in the underlying suit, with no evidence of substitution

Reasoning

The court compared the parties: the Appeal names Albert Odira Ongoma while the Claimant in the subject claim is Christiano Oanda Reuben. Without clarification or evidence of substitution, the Appeal does not properly arise from the decision appealed against, rendering it incompetent.

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02

Jurisdiction - filing in the wrong court

Holding

Filing the Memorandum of Appeal and Application at the High Court of Kenya, rather than the ELRC, renders them incompetent

Reasoning

The court observed that the documents were indicated as filed at the High Court of Kenya, which is an unrelated jurisdiction from the Employment & Labour Relations Court. This defective filing compounded the Appeal's incompetence.

p. 1
03

Limitation and leave under Rule 14

Holding

The Appeal, filed over 4 months after judgment, breached the 30-day rule and no leave to file out of time was obtained

Reasoning

The judgment appealed was delivered on 8th August 2025; the Appeal was lodged on 15th December 2025, well beyond the 30-day period. Rule 14 requires filing within 30 days, and no evidence of leave being sought or granted was produced, so the Appeal was incompetent and had to be struck out.

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Legal principles established

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  • An appeal from the Magistracy in employment matters must be filed within 30 days of the decision
  • An appeal naming a party different from the claimant in the underlying claim, without explanation or substitution, is incompetent

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Memorandum of Appeal dated 15th December 2025 is struck out
  2. 2.The Application accompanying the Memorance of Appeal is struck out
  3. 3.File is closed
  4. 4.No order on the costs
On appeal from
Magistracy / Trial Court (Employment matter)
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment & Labour Relations Court [Procedure] Rules, 2024, Rule 14

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, "Robison Investment Limited v Ongoma (Employment and Labour Relations Appeal E090 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 3751 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Memorandum of Appeal dated 15th December 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/3751/eng@2025-12-16

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