Timsales Limited v Director of Occupational Safety and Health; Mburu (Interested Party) (Appeal E054 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1626 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled the occupational safety Director shouldn't be sued in work injury appeals, but the appeal itself survived.
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 Director, Occupational Safety and Health, as decision-maker under the Work Injury Benefits Act, is properly joined as a party to the Appeal
- 2.Whether the Appeal should be struck out on account of the improper joinder
Key legal issues
#Whether the Director, Occupational Safety and Health is properly a party to an appeal under Section 52 of the Work Injury Benefits Act
The Director is improperly joined; he is a decision-maker who must remain above the fray, and only express provision in written law could make him a party to the appeal
Sections 51 and 52 of WIBA establish a procedure in which the Director makes an award, hears objections, and may vary or uphold his decision, with appeal lying to the E&LRC. Nowhere in that procedure does the Director become a party. The E&LRC (Procedure) Rules 2024 define an appeal against decisions of decision-makers, distinguishing party from decision-maker. Judicial or quasi-judicial officers should not be dragged into disputes they preside over; had the legislature intended the Director to be a party, it would have said so expressly.
Whether the Appeal should be struck out for misjoinder of the Respondent
Striking out refused; the defect is curable by amendment naming the Interested Party as Respondent
The Court found only one flaw: the Director was wrongly named as a party. The Interested Party, who should have been named as Respondent, is already a participant in the Appeal, and there were no other noticeable procedural flaws leading to presentation of the Appeal. The Appeal need only be amended to strike out the Respondent and name the Interested Party as Respondent, with 14 days granted to file an amended Memorandum of Appeal.
Legal principles established
#- A decision-maker under the Work Injury Benefits Act does not become a party to an appeal against his own decision absent express statutory provision
- An appeal is not judicial review; the decision-maker is not normally named as a party on appeal
Court orders
#- 1.The Court agrees with the Interested Party / Applicant, that the Director, Occupational Safety and Health is improperly joined to the Appeal
- 2.The Appellant is granted 14 days to file and serve an amended Memorandum of Appeal
- 3.No order on the costs
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- On appeal from
- Director, Occupational Safety and Health (statutory decision under WIBA)
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 52(2) of the Work Injury Benefits Act
Relief refused
#Striking out of the Appeal
The improper joinder could be cured by amendment; the Interested Party, who should have been the Respondent, is already a participant and there were no other procedural flaws
Costs
No order on the costs.
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 agrees with the Interested Party / Applicant, that the Director, Occupational Safety and Health is improperly joined to the Appeal.
We cannot have judicial or quasi-judicial oficers dragged into the subject matter of the disputes they preside over.
The Appellant is granted 14 days to file and serve an amended Memorandum of Appeal.
No order on the costs.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Timsales Limited v Director of Occupational Safety and Health; Mburu (Interested Party) (Appeal E054 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 1626 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in the judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1626/eng@2025-05-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.