Lucy Wangari Kariuki v Kangunu Famers Co-operative Society
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal ruled that even proven employee misconduct means nothing if the employer skips the mandatory notice-and-hearing steps before dismissal.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Fair hearing before termination on grounds of misconduct
The termination was unfair because the appellant was never summoned to any disciplinary hearing, never asked to show cause, and never informed of her rights to be accompanied or to appeal, notwithstanding valid grounds of misconduct.
The court held that the Employment Act places process at the centre of termination decisions. Although the inquiry report disclosed fraud sufficient for summary dismissal under section 44, the employer failed over some nine months to involve the appellant in any disciplinary process, denying her the mandatory notification and hearing under section 41 and shifting the burden to the employer under sections 43 and 45.
First appellate court's duty on facts
As a first appellate court, the Court of Appeal must re-appraise the evidence and draw its own inferences of fact, though making due allowance for not having seen or heard the witnesses.
Relying on rule 31 of the Court of Appeal Rules and the settled principles in Selle vs. Associated Motor Boat Company, the court rehearsed its retrial-type duty before departing from the trial Judge's finding that valid reasons existed, and substituted its own evaluation of the documentary and oral evidence.
Internal contradiction in the judgment below
The trial court contradicted itself by finding the termination fair while simultaneously dismissing the counterclaim because the appellant was never given an opportunity to defend herself against the audit findings.
The second ground of appeal highlighted that the Judge dismissed the counterclaim for lack of administrative disciplinary findings and absence of any opportunity to defend, which was irreconcilable with his finding that a fair process culminated in dismissal. This Court resolved the contradiction in favour of unfairness of the termination.
Legal principles established
#- Procedural fairness is mandatory: before terminating employment on grounds of misconduct the employer must notify and hear the employee, and an employer who ignores process will be visited with the consequences set out in the Employment Act.
- Even where gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal exists, termination is unfair if the statutory notification and hearing procedure under sections 41 and 43 of the Employment Act is not followed.
Court orders
#- 1.Judgment of the ELRC set aside
- 2.Substitution of an order allowing the appellant's claim
- 3.No reinstatement ordered because a period of over 3 years had passed since termination
- 4.The alternative prayers made in the Memorandum of Claim granted
- 5.Costs of the appeal and of the suit below awarded to the appellant
- On appeal from
- Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) at Nyeri
- Not stated in the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal under rule 31 of the Court of Appeal Rules
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Lucy Wangari Kariuki v Kangunu Famers Co-operative Society", Case Analysis (2025). First appeal from ELRC at Nyeri (Memorandum of Appeal drawn by Messers J. N. Mbuthia Advocates; appeal number not stated in the judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2025/2101/eng@2025-11-28
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.