Randani v Kenya Ports Authority (Miscellaneous Application E034 of 2024) [2024] KEELRC 1576 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court refused to enforce a Kshs. 2 million work injury award because the accident happened in a private car, not on the job.
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 court has jurisdiction to address the application seeking adoption of the Director's award under WIBA
- 2.Whether there was a work-related accident that justified the invocation of WIBA
Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the ELRC to adopt and enforce the Director's award under WIBA
The court has jurisdiction to enforce the Director's awards under WIBA where properly issued, notwithstanding the absence of an express enforcement mechanism in WIBA
Both parties acknowledged WIBA contains no enforcement mechanism for the Director's awards. The court held it was not left without its overriding powers under Article 162(2) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the ELRC Act, 2011 to enforce the Director's awards where properly issued. Jurisdiction therefore existed, but the enforcement power only applies to awards that are validly and properly issued.
Whether the accident of 18 March 2023 was a work-related accident under WIBA
The accident was not work-related; the applicant was in a private vehicle outside the workplace and outside the scope of official duties, so the Director's award was invalid
The report to the Director claimed the accident occurred at Grainbulk Terminal during inspection duties, but the applicant's own statement of 5 April 2023 showed she was a passenger in a private vehicle that rammed a stationary lorry, whose driver was charged and fined for careless driving. The Director failed to conduct a proper inquiry under Section 23 of WIBA. Compensation had already been paid under the Group Personal Accident policy covering injuries outside employment scope.
Adequacy of the Director's inquiry and investigation under Section 23 of WIBA
The Director's statutory duty to inquire and investigate is imperative and not mechanical; a proper inquiry would have revealed the accident was not work-related
Section 23 of WIBA obliges the Director to make inquiries necessary to decide on liability and to carry out investigations. The court held these motions are not mechanical and the duty to investigate before issuing an assessment is imperative. A proper investigation would have revealed the driver's traffic prosecution and would have engaged Section 17(2) of WIBA on third-party liability. The report to the Director was incorrect and supplying false information is a criminal act under Section 23(4).
Legal principles established
#- Under Article 162(2) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, the ELRC has overriding powers to enforce the Director's awards under WIBA where properly issued
- An award of the Director under WIBA that is not founded on a work-related accident as defined in Section 2 of WIBA is invalid and unenforceable
Court orders
#- 1.The application dated 27 March 2024 is dismissed
- 2.Costs to the respondent
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, 2011
Relief refused
#Adoption of the Director's award of Kshs. 2,020,237.33 as judgment of the court, with interest and costs
The accident was not work-related as defined under Section 2 of WIBA; the applicant was compensated under the Group Personal Accident cover for injuries outside employment scope, rendering the award invalid and unenforceable
Costs
Costs to the respondent
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.
The court is not left without its overriding powers under Article 162(2) of the Constitution and Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, 2011 to enforce the awards of the director under WIBA where properly issued.
The applicant was in a private car and had an accident outside the workplace.
The motions of the director's inquiry under WIBA are not mechanical. They are not meant to move papers from one ofice to the next.
Accordingly, the application dated 27 March 2024 is without merit and is hereby dismissed. Costs to the respondent.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment invokes 'Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2007' which the judgment itself notes is non-existent
The registration number of the private vehicle appears inconsistently as KAQ 444D and KAG 444D within the judgment
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Randani v Kenya Ports Authority (Miscellaneous Application E034 of 2024) [2024] KEELRC 1576 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2024/1576/eng@2024-06-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.