Skip to content
AI-generated case briefs sourced from Kenya Law · Not legal advice
Caselaw
AI-generated case brief
Case Brief · caselaw.co.ke
Court of AppealDismissedNot stated in the judgment· [2026] KECA 788 (KLR)

Kenya National Private Security Workers Union v Hesbon Lumumba M’mbolo & 7 others

Court of Appeal of Kenya
24 April 2026
HOH. A. OmondiLKL. KimaruAMA. O. Muchelule
1,204 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~5 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

#

Kenya's Court of Appeal refused to stop a rival union from recruiting members, because the union was already registered and the applicant had filed a duplicate case elsewhere.

What this practically means

#

Executive summary

#
The applicant trade union moved the Court of Appeal at Kisumu under Rule 5(2)(b) of the Court of Appeal Rules seeking an injunction to restrain the respondents, officials of the registered union KUSPROG, from recruiting private security officers and from encroaching on what the applicant claimed as its gazetted jurisdiction, pending an intended appeal against a decision of the Employment and Labour Relations Court at Kisumu in ELRC No. 5 of 2020 delivered on 7 February 2020. The respondents opposed, contending that KUSPROG was not a party to the ELRC proceedings, that their union was validly registered in line with that judgment, that the demarcation dispute was new matter never litigated below, and that the application would impermissibly restrain workers' freedom of association. Applying the settled two-limb test, the Court found the appeal arguable - the question whether one union may recruit members covered by another's collective bargaining agreements is not frivolous - but held the nugatory limb failed. The respondents were already registered and running the union, so the horse had bolted; and the applicant had filed a parallel suit at Kakamega ELRC seeking essentially the same orders, which the Court condemned as hedging bets and an abuse of due process. The application was dismissed with costs to the respondents. This is a single judgment of the three-judge bench; no separate opinions and no dissent appear.

Key legal issues

#
01

Whether the applicant established an arguable appeal

Holding

Yes - the question whether the respondents can recruit members bound by the applicant's collective bargaining agreements while promoting their union is arguable.

Reasoning

The court framed the key issue as whether the respondents, exercising freedom of association, could recruit the applicant's members who have collective bargaining agreements with their employers. The court found this a non-frivolous question fit for ventilation on the intended appeal, applying the settled test from Stanley Kangethe Kinyanjui v Tony Ketter that arguability does not require certainty of success.

p. 3
02

Whether the intended appeal would be rendered nugatory if the injunction is refused

Holding

No - the union is already registered and functioning, and the applicant has filed a parallel suit at Kakamega ELRC seeking similar orders.

Reasoning

Two facts defeated the nugatory-ness limb: the respondents were already registered as officials of KUSPROG after the ELRC decided in their favour, so they cannot be injuncted from running a registered union; and the applicant had filed another suit before the ELRC at Kakamega seeking essentially the same orders, meaning it had an alternative remedy and was hedging its bets, amounting to abuse of court process.

p. 3

Legal principles established

#
  • An application under Rule 5(2)(b) must establish both an arguable appeal and that the appeal will be rendered nugatory if the injunction is not granted.
  • An arguable appeal is not one which will necessarily succeed but one which is not frivolous.
  • A litigant may not pursue the same remedy in different courts of different jurisdictions; doing so amounts to abuse of due process.

Court orders

#
  1. 1.The application under Rule 5(2)(b) is dismissed
  2. 2.Costs of the application awarded to the respondents
On appeal from
Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC), Kisumu
Kisumu ELRC No. 5 of 2020
Jurisdiction invoked
Rule 5(2)(b) of the Court of Appeal Rules (injunction pending intended appeal)

Key timeline

#

Practical implications

#

Frequently asked questions

#

Cite this brief

#

Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Kenya National Private Security Workers Union v Hesbon Lumumba M’mbolo & 7 others", Case Analysis (2026). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2026/788/eng@2026-04-24

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