Josephat Kipleting Kosgei v Sashoo Logistics Limited
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court confirmed that the three-year deadline to sue for unfair termination runs continuously, with no break for the Christmas vacation.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether Order 50 rule 4 CPR suspends the section 90 Employment Act limitation period over the Christmas vacation
It does not; the rule by its terms applies only to time 'under these Rules or any order of the court', not to statutory limitation periods
The court read rule 4 according to its plain words: it operates on time limits fixed by the Rules themselves or by court orders in pending proceedings. A statutory limitation period is neither. The rule's operative acts (amending, delivering or filing pleadings) are steps in pending litigation, it is displaceable case-by-case by a judge, and the temporary-injunction proviso confirms its procedural scope. A rule of subsidiary legislation cannot amend section 90 by adding 72 days.
Whether 'three years' in section 90 means calendar years and how they are computed
Yes, three calendar years reckoned continuously, computed under section 57 of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act
Section 3(1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act defines a year as a year reckoned according to the British calendar, applying to every written law unless displaced. Section 57 excludes the day of the event and extends only periods ending on excluded days; it contains no vacation suspension. The termination of 30th April 2022 gave until 30th April 2025; filing on 15th May 2025 was fifteen days late.
Whether the learned magistrate failed to consider the Appellant's submissions
She did not; she engaged with the sole point argued and gave reasons
The Appellant's answer rested only on Order 50 rule 4 and the Ruling expressly engaged with that rule and rejected it. A court need not rehearse every sentence of submissions; it must consider the case and give reasons, which the magistrate did. The ground failed.
Legal principles established
#- Order 50 rule 4 CPR applies only to computation of time under the Civil Procedure Rules and court orders, not to statutory limitation periods
- The three years under section 90 of the Employment Act are computed under section 57 of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, in calendar years
- Subsidiary legislation cannot enlarge a statutory limitation period; where a procedural rule and a substantive statute speak to the same matter, the statute prevails
- A statutory limitation period goes to jurisdiction and cannot be overlooked as a technicality
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is dismissed
- 2.The Ruling of the learned trial magistrate delivered on 19th February 2026 in Mombasa CMELRC No. E325 of 2025 is upheld
- 3.Each party shall bear its own costs of this appeal
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court at Mombasa (ELRC)
- Mombasa CMELRC No. E325 of 2025
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2)(a) of the Constitution and the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act (first appeal from the subordinate court)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Josephat Kipleting Kosgei v Sashoo Logistics Limited", Case Analysis (2026). ELRC Appeal No. E050 of 2026. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2026/2735/eng@2026-09-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.