Rift Valley Railways Workers' Union (K) v Kenya Railways Corporation (Cause E103 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1061 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court struck out a union's unfair dismissal claim filed nearly ten years late, confirming the strict three-year deadline under section 90 of the Employment Act.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether this Court has jurisdiction to hear the Claim dated 26 March 2024 given section 90 of the Employment Act limitation period
- 2.Whether the suit and application are incompetent, fatally defective and an abuse of court process
Key legal issues
#Limitation under section 90 of the Employment Act
The suit is time-barred and the Court declines jurisdiction
The Grievant was informed of his dismissal on 21 October 2014, effective 1 September 2014, and of the dismissal of his appeal on 10 February 2015. Section 90 of the Employment Act, 2007 requires claims to be brought within three years of accrual. The Union instead filed the present Cause on 8 February 2024, nearly a decade later, and after an earlier Cause (Nairobi Cause No. 830 of 2019) in which the Court had declined jurisdiction. The claim was therefore lodged outside the prescribed period.
Legal principles established
#- Under section 90 of the Employment Act, 2007, employment litigation must be commenced within 3 years of when the cause of action accrues
- A cause of action for unlawful dismissal accrues when the employee is informed of the dismissal
Court orders
#- 1.The Court declines jurisdiction
- 2.The Cause is struck out
- 3.No order on costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction; preliminary objection on limitation under section 90 of the Employment Act, 2007
Relief refused
#Hearing of the unfair dismissal claim on the merits
The cause of action accrued on 21 October 2014 and the Cause was filed on 8 February 2024, outside the 3-year limitation period under section 90 of the Employment Act
Costs
No order on costs since the Respondent failed to file submissions within agreed timelines
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 instant Cause was filed in Court on 8 February 2024, outside the prescribed limitation period.
The Court declines jurisdiction and strikes out the Cause with no order on costs since the Respondent failed to file submissions within agreed timelines.
Issues in the judgment
#The case number of the present Cause is not stated in the judgment, and the preliminary objection refers to a 'Claim dated 26th March 2024' while the judgment records the suit as filed on 8 February 2024
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Rift Valley Railways Workers' Union (K) v Kenya Railways Corporation (Cause E103 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1061 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment excerpt (Cause filed 8 February 2024). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1061/eng@2025-04-03
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.