Makini Schools Limited v Omutakha & 5 others (Cause E072 of 2023) [2023] KEELRC 2619 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court gave Makini School more time to appeal its redundancy ruling and blocked execution of the debt, provided the school first deposits the money in court.
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 applicant should be granted extension of time to file and serve a memorandum and record of appeal
- 2.Whether the delay in filing the appeal was inordinate and satisfactorily explained
- 3.Whether an order of stay of execution of the decree pending appeal should be granted
Key legal issues
#The correct date from which time for filing an appeal runs
Time runs from the final orders of 27th March 2023, since the 26th August 2022 judgment remitted quantum of redundancy dues to the labour officer and was therefore not final
The court found that the judgment of 26th August 2022 left the computation of redundancy dues to the labour officer, whose figures were adopted in final orders on 27th March 2023. The labour office could have arrived at a different figure from the applicant's own computation, which could have been a ground of appeal; hence the applicant was prudent to await final orders before appealing.
Whether the explanation for the delay (restructuring and change of board/management) sufficed
The explanation was plausible and justified exercise of discretion in favour of the applicant
The applicant deponed that restructuring necessitated changes in board and management, and the outgoing leadership failed to hand over or communicate the judgment to the new Regional Managing Director, who learnt of it on 8th May 2023 when the respondents' counsel threatened execution. The court found this explanation plausible enough to exercise its discretion in the applicant's favour.
Whether stay of execution pending appeal should issue
Stay granted on condition that the decretal sum be deposited in Court within 30 days
Applying Order 42 rule 6 principles including the applicant's willingness to furnish security, the court granted stay conditional on deposit of the decretal sum in Court within 30 days, and deemed the draft memorandum of appeal filed upon payment of requisite fees.
Legal principles established
#- The 26th August 2022 judgment was not final; the relevant time for computing limitation for an appeal runs from the final orders of 27th March 2023 following the labour officer's computation
- Enlargement of time is a matter of judicial discretion to be exercised judiciously, considering the reason for the delay, whether the delay is inordinate, and prejudice to the other party
Court orders
#- 1.Time enlarged for the applicant to file and serve a memorandum of appeal and record of appeal
- 2.Stay of execution of the decree granted on condition that the decretal sum be deposited in Court within 30 days of the ruling
- 3.The draft memorandum of appeal attached to the application deemed duly filed and served upon payment of the requisite court fees
- 4.Costs of the application to abide the outcome of the appeal
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Milimani Chief Magistrate's Court (Employment and Labour Relations)
- Milimani CMELR 1939 of 2019 (Consolidated)
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Proviso to section 79G of the Civil Procedure Act; Order 50 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules
- Consolidated with
- CMELR 1934 of 2019, CMELR 1935 of 2019, CMELR 1936 of 2019, CMELR 1937 of 2019, CMELR 1938 of 2019
Relief refused
#Order compelling the applicant to pay the respondents Kshs 88,243 directly
The court instead conditioned the stay on the applicant depositing the decretal sum in Court
Costs
The costs of this application shall abide the outcome of the appeal
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.
This explanation sounds plausible enough to persuade the court to exercise it discretion in favour of the applicant which the Court hereby does.
The decision of the Court that was delivered on 26th August, 2022 was not final. The labour oficer was tasked to compute the quantum of redundancy payable to the respondents.
the Court hereby orders that the decretal sum herein be deposited in Court as a condition for granting the stay herein and such deposit be done within 30 days of this ruling.
The costs of this application shall abide the outcome of the appeal
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment states the final orders were issued on 27th March 2023 earlier in the ruling but refers to '25th March, 2023' when adopting that date as the reckoning point
The deponent averred readiness to pay Kshs 883,243 while the application sought payment of Kshs 88,243
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Makini Schools Limited v Omutakha & 5 others (Cause E072 of 2023) [2023] KEELRC 2619 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2023). Milimani CMELR 1939 of 2019 (Consolidated with CMELR 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1938 of 2019). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2023/2619/eng@2023-10-27
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.