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ELRCDismissedCause No. E869 of 2025

Rachael Jambiha Ulira v The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands & Royal Netherlands Embassy

Employment and Labour Relations Court
2 October 2026
ANAgnes Kitiku Nzei
1,682 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~7 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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Kenya's Employment Court ruled that embassy staff hired locally can sue their embassy employer despite diplomatic immunity claims.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Claimant, a cook employed from 21st January 2019 under successive written contracts with three Ambassadors of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nairobi, sued the Ambassador and the Royal Netherlands Embassy alleging unfair and unlawful termination by letter dated 19th June 2025. She sought declarations of unfair termination and breach of statutory obligations, Kshs.2,751,479.8 with interest, a certificate of service under Section 51 of the Employment Act, and costs. The Respondents filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 27th October 2025 seeking striking out of the suit for want of jurisdiction, invoking diplomatic immunity of the 1st Respondent under Articles 1 and 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as domesticated by Section 4 of the Privileges and Immunities Act, testimonial immunity under Article 31(2), absence of an employer-employee relationship with the Embassy, and the Embassy's sovereign immunity and lack of capacity to be sued. The Court framed a single issue: whether it is seized of jurisdiction. Adopting the restrictive immunity doctrine from the Joel Ndegwa decision and the Court of Appeal's holding in the Embassy of Sweden case that locally recruited employees' contracts fall in the private law domain and are subject to the ELRC's jurisdiction, the Court found it has jurisdiction. The preliminary objection was dismissed with costs, and the suit was directed to be fast-tracked and set down for hearing.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether this Court is seized of jurisdiction to entertain, to hear and to determine the Claimant's suit herein, notwithstanding the Respondents' claim of diplomatic and sovereign immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961)

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the ELRC has jurisdiction over an employment claim against a foreign Ambassador and Embassy despite diplomatic immunity

Holding

The Court has jurisdiction; the claimant was locally employed and her employment contracts are private transactions to which restrictive immunity does not apply.

Reasoning

The Court distinguished personal diplomatic immunity under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention from state immunity protecting the embassy. Relying on the restrictive immunity doctrine adopted in Joel Ndegwa and the Embassy of Sweden case, it held that locally recruited employees' contracts belong to private law, so the ELRC is seized of jurisdiction. The preliminary objection was therefore dismissed.

p. 10

Legal principles established

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  • Kenya adopts the restrictive doctrine of sovereign/diplomatic immunity; the test is the nature of the act - governmental or private.
  • Locally recruited embassy employees' contracts of employment fall in the private law domain and are subject to the ELRC's jurisdiction.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 27th October, 2025 is dismissed with costs
  2. 2.The suit shall be fast-tracked and set down for hearing

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

AN
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act; Employment Act, 2007

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

I make a finding that this Court is seized of the requisite jurisdiction to entertain, to hear and to determine the suit herein.
p. 10Jurisdiction over locally recruited embassy staff
It is apparent that there is no absolute sovereign immunity. It is restrictive.
p. 9Restrictive immunity doctrine (as quoted from Joel Ndegwa)
The same is hereby dismissed with costs.
p. 11Disposition - dismissal of preliminary objection
The suit herein shall be fast-tracked, and shall be set down for hearing.
p. 11Final orders - fast-tracking

Issues in the judgment

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minor

Judgment delivery year stated as 2026 despite 2025 cause and 2025 preliminary objection.

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, "Rachael Jambiha Ulira v The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands & Royal Netherlands Embassy", Case Analysis (2026). Cause No. E869 of 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2026/2765/eng@2026-10-02

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