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ELRCAllowedNot stated in the judgment

Sakwa v Patriotic Guards Limited (Cause 77 of 2017) [2023] KEELRC 1408 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
9 June 2023
ANAbuodha J. N.
388 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~2 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan employer that ignores an employment claim will face automatic judgment against it, with costs and interest added.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The claimant, employed by the respondent as a security guard from December 1, 1996 on a monthly salary of Kshs.5,000, alleged that his services were wrongfully and unlawfully terminated orally and that he was unfairly declared redundant following the termination of an Eldoret Branch assignment. He pleaded that under an indemnity agreement dated June 23, 2015, the respondent agreed to pay him Kshs.53,149.17 in three installments and to update his NSSF statement by paying Kshs.200 by August 1, 2015. The respondent defaulted on the payments and also failed to issue him a certificate of service, prompting the memorandum of claim filed on May 16, 2017. Though served, the respondent neither entered appearance nor filed a response. At the virtual oral hearing, the claimant adopted his witness statement of May 15, 2017 and the documents filed with the claim as his evidence, and testified that he was never paid the sums due under the indemnity agreement. The court treated the matter as an undefended claim for a liquidated demand and entered judgment for the claimant for Kshs.82,349.17 together with costs and interest. The judgment did not explain how the awarded figure was computed, and the certificate of service relief was not expressly addressed.

Questions the Court framed

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

  1. 1.Whether the respondent wrongfully and unlawfully terminated the claimant's employment and declared him redundant
  2. 2.Whether the respondent was bound to pay the sums agreed under the indemnity agreement dated June 23, 2015
  3. 3.Whether the respondent should issue a certificate of service

Key legal issues

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01

Liability on an undefended liquidated claim

Holding

Judgment entered for the claimant for the liquidated amount with costs and interest

Reasoning

The respondent was served but neither entered appearance nor filed a response. The claimant testified and relied on his witness statement and documents, including the indemnity agreement. The court treated the demand as liquidated and uncontroverted, entering judgment for Kshs.82,349.17 with costs and interest.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • In an undefended claim for a liquidated demand, judgment may be entered on the uncontroverted evidence

Court orders

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  1. 1.Judgment for the claimant in the sum of Kshs.82,349.17
  2. 2.Costs of the suit to the claimant
  3. 3.Interest on the decretal sum

The bench

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

AN
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Not expressly stated; original employment and labour relations jurisdiction of the ELRC

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.

This matter is undefended and the claimant is making a liquidated demand. The court will therefore enter judgment of Kshs.82,349.17 together with costs and interest.
p. 2Undefended claim - judgment on liquidated demand
The respondent though served never entered appearance nor filed a response to the claim.
p. 2Service and non-appearance of respondent
DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED VIRTUALLY AT NAIROBI ON THIS 9TH DAY OF JUNE 2023
p. 2Disposition

Issues in the judgment

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minor

Termination date inconsistency: the claim pleaded termination on June 23, 2015, but the claimant's oral evidence stated 2010

material

The pleaded indemnity amount was Kshs.53,149.17 (plus Kshs.200 NSSF contribution), but the court awarded Kshs.82,349.17 without explaining the difference

minor

Judgment did not expressly address the claimed certificate of service despite it being pleaded

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, "Sakwa v Patriotic Guards Limited (Cause 77 of 2017) [2023] KEELRC 1408 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/1408/eng@2023-06-09

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