Namayi v Adtones East Africa Limited
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether the preliminary objection that the court lacks jurisdiction under section 12 of the ELRC Act, on the ground that there was no employment relationship between the parties, is merited
- 2.Whether the question whether the parties had an employment or independent contractor relationship can be determined as a pure point of law at the infancy stage of the cause
Key legal issues
#Whether a jurisdictional objection premised on the absence of an employment relationship is a pure point of law
It is not, where the existence of the employment relationship is a contested factual question requiring evaluation of evidence at trial.
The court applied the Mukisa Biscuit principle that a preliminary objection must rest on a pure point of law. Although jurisdictional challenges are presumed to raise pure points of law, that presumption falls away where contested facts must be interrogated. The Claimant pleaded employment and produced an offer letter and termination communication; the Respondent asserted an independent contractor relationship without supporting preliminary material. The conflict renders the question one for trial.
Legal principles established
#- A preliminary objection must be confined to a pure point of law and ceases to be one where the court is invited to interrogate contested factual matters to determine jurisdiction.
- Where the existence of an employment relationship is contested, it cannot be resolved as a preliminary point of law but must be determined after a full trial.
Court orders
#- 1.The preliminary objection is dismissed with costs to the Claimant
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act (invoked in the preliminary objection on the court's jurisdiction)
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
Although a challenge to the court's jurisdiction is presumed to raise a pure point of law, this ceases to be the case when the court is invited to interrogate contested factual matters at the infancy stage of a case in order to determine whether it should assume jurisdiction over a dispute.
That will be inappropriate as it will be tantamount to determining a contested fact without examining the evidence on it through a full trial.
As such, the objection is dismissed with costs to the Claimant.
Issues in the judgment
#Preliminary objection dated 28th November 2025 in the Determination, mirroring the termination letter date of 28th November 2024; likely typographical error.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Namayi v Adtones East Africa Limited", Case Analysis (2026). Employment and Labour Relations Cause E247 of 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2026/2781/eng@2026-10-08
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.