REPUBLIC OF KENYA IN THE INDUSTRIAL COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI MISC. NO. 7 OF 2014 AGNES M. OSIEMO ................................................................ 1ST APPLICANT AGNES W. KIMANI .................................................................... 2ND APPLICANT ALEXANDER K. KARIUKI ........................................................... 3RD APPLICANT ALFRED MAILU ......................................................................... 4TH APPLICANT ALLOYS MAKENYA .................................................................... 5TH APPLICANT BEATRICE W. NGATIA ................................................................ 6TH APPLICANT BRIDGET KAIMURI .................................................................... 7TH APPLICANT CATHERINE N. KAMENWA ........................................................ 8TH APPLICANT CHARLES T. CHIRA ................................................................... 9TH APPLICANT CHRISTINE W. MUHIU ............................................................... 10TH APPLICANT DANIEL M. KIBARU .................................................................. 11TH APPLICANT DAVID N. SAMANI ................................................................... 12TH APPLICANT DICK MANWA ........................................................................ 13TH APPLICANT DICK N. MOCHACHE .............................................................. 14TH APPLICANT DUNCAN M. ONUNDU ............................................................. 15TH APPLICANT EDITH WANJIRU ..................................................................... 16TH APPLICANT EDWARD K. MAINA ................................................................. 17TH APPLICANT ESTHER A. OTIENO ................................................................. 18TH APPLICANT
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EZRA O. SAMUEL ................................................................... 19TH APPLICANT GRACE K. MAINA ..................................................................... 20TH APPLICANT GRACE N. MBATIA ................................................................... 21ST APPLICANT GRACE A. OGWANG .................................................................. 22ND APPLICANT HASSAN ODHIAMBO ................................................................ 23RD APPLICANT HENRY MWANGI ........................................................................ 24TH APPLICANT HENRY N. MURANGA ................................................................. 25TH APPLICANT HENRY WETENDE ...................................................................... 26TH APPLICANT JAMES N. GICHIA ...................................................................... 27TH APPLICANT JAMES KAGUAI ......................................................................... 28TH APPLICANT JAMES K. GUCHU .................................................................... 29TH APPLICANT JAMES O. MASIRA ................................................................... 30TH APPLICANT JANE N. MAINA ........................................................................ 31ST APPLICANT JANE W. KANJA ....................................................................... 32ND APPLICANT JANET K. IRUNGU ................................................................... 33RD APPLICANT JACINTA W. THUMBI ............................................................... 34TH APPLICANT JASON OBINO ......................................................................... 35TH APPLICANT JOAB O. ONGOCHE ................................................................ 36TH APPLICANT JOSEPH M. NGOTHO .............................................................. 37TH APPLICANT JUDITH M. MURIITHI ................................................................ 38TH APPLICANT JULIUS B. NANDWA ................................................................. 39TH APPLICANT LEAH W. NGANGA ..................................................................... 40TH APPLICANT LUCAS OTIENO ....................................................................... 41ST APPLICANT LUCY W. NDUNG’U .................................................................. 42ND APPLICANT MARGARET W. KARURI ........................................................... 43RD APPLICANT MARY W. MURIUKI .................................................................. 44TH APPLICANT
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MARY N. GITAU ........................................................................ 45TH APPLICANT MERCY M. MWANGI ................................................................ 46TH APPLICANT MINNIE N. KIMANI ................................................................... 47TH APPLICANT NELIUS G. NDUNGU ................................................................. 48TH APPLICANT ROSE N. KIMANI ...................................................................... 49TH APPLICANT PETER M. KAMUNDIA ............................................................... 50TH APPLICANT PETER NYAKERI ....................................................................... 51ST APPLICANT RICHARD K. WANYOIKE .......................................................... 52ND APPLICANT RICHARD M. NYANGAU ............................................................ 53RD APPLICANT REGINA W. GITHII .................................................................... 54TH APPLICANT ROSEMARY W. KANGANGA ...................................................... 55TH APPLICANT SAMUEL H. KARANJA ................................................................ 56TH APPLICANT SAMUEL GITAU .......................................................................... 57TH APPLICANT SAMUEL NGATA ........................................................................ 58TH APPLICANT SAMUEL O. ONCHIRI ................................................................. 59TH APPLICANT TABITHA W. NJIRAINI ............................................................... 60TH APPLICANT VERONICA W. MAINA .............................................................. 61ST APPLICANT VIOLET K. NDAMBO ............................................................... 62ND APPLICANT NANCY H. MACHARIA ............................................................. 63RD APPLICANT PAUL KARANJA ..................................................................... 64TH APPLICANT NORAH ANAM ........................................................................ 65TH APPLICANT WACEKE KIMANI .................................................................... 66TH APPLICANT STEPHEN N. GATHURU ............................................................ 67TH APPLICANT SAMSON M. MBINDO ................................................................. 68TH APPLICANT ROSE A. IMBAYA ....................................................................... 69TH APPLICANT STEPHEN N. KANYI ................................................................... 70TH APPLICANT
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HENRY N. MANENGA ................................................................ 71ST APPLICANT JACOB M. KILEI ....................................................................... 72ND APPLICANT SAMUEL G. MWANGI ................................................................ 73RD APPLICANT DOMINIC N. ANDERE ................................................................. 74TH APPLICANT ZIPPORAH CHEMUTAI ............................................................... 75TH APPLICANT LYDIA W. WACHIRA .................................................................. 76TH APPLICANT VERSUS NATIONAL BANK OF KENYA .................................................. 1ST RESPONDENT INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ........................................... 2ND RESPONDENT F. N. Kimani for Applicant RULING 1. This Application dated 15th January 2014, was filed on the same date supported by an affidavit of Daniel Mugo Kibaru, on behalf of 76 Applicants. 2. The applicants are ex-employees of Dawa Pharmaceutical Limited, which company was placed under liquidation and its assets and liabilities taken over by the 1st and 2nd Respondents herein. This took place sometimes in 2008. The Applicants were not paid their dues subsequent to which they filed H.C. Misc. Application No. 1612 of 2005. On 2nd March 2007, the High Court struck out the case on grounds it had no jurisdiction to entertain the same. 4. The Advocate for the Applicants, sought to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal out of time but the Application for extension of time was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 13 th December 2008 for failure by the Advocate to appear to ventilate the matter. A subsequent Application was granted by the Court of Appeal on 22 nd January 2010 allowing an appeal to be filed out of time. The Advocate did not file an appeal on time and sought a further extension which was refused on 23 rd March 2012. The Advocate became elusive, and completely unavailable until the Applicants obtained the service of their current Advocate, F. N. Kimani & Associates. 5. That the Applicants seek extension of time to file a suit before the Industrial Court out of time. They claim they are truly owed terminal benefits by the Respondents herein and therefore it is in the interest of justice that this application be allowed.
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6. The Applicants have not annexed a draft statement of claim to this application for the Court to evaluate its viability in exercise of its discretion as prayed. 7. The 1st and 2nd Respondents were not the employers of the Applicants and there is no material placed before Court to help it determine whether this Court has jurisdiction over the intended suit. Furthermore, the cause of action as alleged in the oral submissions, though not stated in the Supporting Affidavit is alleged to have arisen sometimes in 2006. The circumstances under which the cause of action arose, are neither canvassed in the grounds of the Application nor in the Supporting Affidavit itself. The court can in the circumstances only guess when, where and what happened to the Applicants who are alleged to have been declared redundant by an employer who is not a party to this suit. 8. It is now trite that labour claims founded on contract before the enactment of the Employment Act, 2007, fall within the purview of the limitation of Actions Act, Cap 22 of the Laws of Kenya, on matters of limitation. The provision Applicable is Section 4(1) thereat which limits the period of bringing suits founded on contract to six 6) years from the date the cause of action arose in mandatory terms. 9. The Court of Appeal of Kenya at Nairobi in the matter of Divecon Ltd. Vs. Saman held: “the word of Section 4(1) were clear beyond any doubt and meant that no one had the right or power to bring an action founded on contract after the end of six years from the date on which the cause of action occurred.” The Court held further that: “under Section 28(2) of the Limitation of Actions Act, where an exparte application for extension of time was made before the commencement of an action, leave would only be granted where a cause of action had been established and the requirements of Sections 27(2) and 29 had been fulfilled.” 10. In this case, reliance is made on the negligence of an Advocate, who misled the parties to proceed before a Court without jurisdiction and who failed, through negligent conduct to prosecute an appeal against an order of the High Court to the effect that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter, even upon condonation by the Court of Appeal. No doubt, the parties have recourse against the Advocate personally. The Court has no discretion to enlarge the time for filing this suit. 11. Accordingly, the exparte Application is unmeritorious and the same is dismissed. Dated and delivered at Nairobi this 4th day of April, 2014. MATHEWS N. NDUMA PRINCIPAL JUDGE
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