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ELRCPartially AllowedMombasa ELRC Cause/Application dated 11th November 2024 (part of Petition No. E 014 of 2024)

Munga v Kenya Maritime Authority & another (Cause E110 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 599 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
23 January 2025
OKOCHARO KEBIRA
4,802 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~19 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan court halted the Kenya Maritime Authority's disciplinary process because the employer refused to give its Director General the documents he needed to defend himself.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Claimant, appointed Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority effective 15th December 2023, applied by notice of motion dated 11th November 2024 for temporary injunctions restraining the Respondents from taking or implementing disciplinary action arising from letters dated 20th September 2024 and 23rd October 2024, including interdiction and a notice to show cause, and from assigning the Director General's duties to the 2nd Interested Party. He alleged the Board meeting of 20th September 2024 was unlawfully convened (insufficient notice, unapproved venue), that the compulsory leave and acting appointment contravened the HR Manual, that the allegations of over-expenditure and failure to appraise employees were unreasonable and malicious (some expenditure predating his employment), and that the Respondents refused to supply documents he requested, violating the HR Manual and his right to a fair hearing. The Respondents countered with non-disclosure, the exhaustion doctrine under section 74 of the Public Service Commission Act, and asserted the process was procedurally sound. The Court (Ocharo Kebira, J) held that courts will intervene in incomplete disciplinary proceedings only in exceptional circumstances, and found such circumstances established: documents were admittedly not fully availed, breaching the Respondents' own HR Manual, and the allegations on 2023 expenditure and employee appraisal went unrebutted. A temporary injunction was issued halting the disciplinary process pending the suit, but the Claimant remains under interdiction, retained on full pay with benefits; the suit is to be heard on priority, with costs of the application in the cause.

Questions the Court framed

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

  1. 1.Whether a court will intervene in incomplete disciplinary proceedings
  2. 2.Whether the Claimant has demonstrated a prima facie case with a well-grounded apprehension of irreparable harm and where the balance of convenience lies

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the Court should interdict a disciplinary process already commenced

Holding

Yes, but only in exceptional circumstances; such circumstances were established here because the process was unreasonable, in violation of the employer's own HR Manual, afflicted by ill faith and a threat to fair hearing and fair labour practices

Reasoning

The Court applied the trite interlocutory injunction test (prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience). It found the Respondents failed to avail documents requested on 29th October and 17th November 2024, breaching their own HR Manual (Clause 11.4.2); the Respondents did not rebut the allegations that the Claimant was blamed for 2023 expenditure predating his employment and for failure to appraise employees not under his supervision. These constituted exceptional circumstances justifying intervention.

p. 9

Legal principles established

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  • Courts will intervene in incomplete disciplinary proceedings only in exceptional circumstances
  • Adequate opportunity to prepare a defence to disciplinary charges includes availing documents requested by the employee unless there is a compelling and reasonable reason not to

Court orders

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  1. 1.Pending the hearing and determination of the suit, a temporary injunction restraining the Respondents from proceeding with any disciplinary process, or taking any disciplinary action against the Claimant based on matters referred to or arising from the notice to show cause dated 23rd October 2024
  2. 2.For clarity of record, the Claimant shall remain under interdiction pending the hearing and determination of the matter
  3. 3.The Claimant shall be retained in his employment on full pay with due benefits
  4. 4.The suit shall be heard on a priority basis
  5. 5.Costs of the application shall be in the cause

The bench

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

OK
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Article 41 of the Constitution and employment and labour relations jurisdiction of the ELRC; application under interim injunctive relief in a pending suit

Relief refused

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Direction to the 1st Interested Party to investigate the affairs of the 1st Respondent under section 18 Cap 446 and table a report within 120 days

No order made on this head in the final disposition

Vacation of the interdiction / restraining the assignment of Director General duties to the 2nd Interested Party

The Court expressly left the interdiction in place and did not grant the orders on the assignment of duties

p. 10

Costs

Costs of the application shall be in the cause.

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.

Pending the hearing and determination of this suit, a temporary injunction is issued restraining the Respondents from proceeding with any disciplinary process, and or taking any disciplinary action against the Claimant based on any of those matters referred to or arising from the 1st Respondent’s notice to show cause dated 23rd October 2024.
p. 10final orders - temporary injunction
The Claimant shall be retained in his employment on full pay with due benefits.
p. 10final orders - retention on full pay
This Court has held that it will not easily interdict the holding of a disciplinary hearing and will do so only where exceptional circumstances are established.
p. 9test for intervention in disciplinary proceedings
Costs of the application shall be in the cause.
p. 10costs

Issues in the judgment

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minor

Typographical error in judgment date of Special Board Meeting

minor

Ground-breaking ceremony date inconsistently stated within the Respondent's account

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, "Munga v Kenya Maritime Authority & another (Cause E110 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 599 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Mombasa ELRC Cause/Application dated 11th November 2024 (part of Petition No. E 014 of 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/599/eng@2025-01-23

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