Savali v City Oil Kenya Ltd (Cause 462 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 1670 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employment court ruled that an unserved Notice of Withdrawal did not end a worker's unfair dismissal case, so his suit can now proceed to hearing.
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 Notice of Withdrawal filed on 16 June 2020 automatically withdrew the Cause without adoption or further direction of the Court
- 2.Whether the Notice of Withdrawal required adoption by the Court before taking effect, given the silence of the ELRC (Procedure) Rules on withdrawal
- 3.Whether the Claimant could have the Notice of Withdrawal expunged from the record so that the hearing could proceed
Key legal issues
#Effect of an unserved Notice of Withdrawal filed by a claimant
The Notice of Withdrawal did not automatically withdraw the Cause because it was not served on the Respondent as required by Order 25 Rule 1, and the Respondent continued to participate in the proceedings.
The ELRC Rules are silent on withdrawal, so Order 25 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules applies and requires service of the Notice on all parties. Service affords the adverse party an opportunity to address issues such as costs. There was no evidence of service; the Respondent filed witness statements and expressed readiness for hearing without objection, which the Court held made the withdrawal ineffective in the peculiar circumstances.
Legal principles established
#- Where the ELRC Procedure Rules are silent on the withdrawal of a suit, recourse is taken from the Civil Procedure Act and Rules.
- A Notice of Withdrawal of a suit not yet set down for hearing must be served on all parties, and in the peculiar circumstances of a case it may not automatically withdraw the Cause.
Court orders
#- 1.The Cause to proceed to hearing
- 2.Costs in the cause
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Original employment and labour relations jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court under the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act and the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules 2016/2024
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.
Order 25 Rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules requires that a Notice of Withdrawal of a suit before it has been set down for hearing should be served on all the parties to the suit.
In the peculiar circumstances of this case, the Court finds that the Notice of Withdrawal filed in Court on 16 June 2020 did not automatically withdraw the Cause.
In light of the above, the Court directs that the Cause proceed to hearing. Costs in the cause.
Issues in the judgment
#The judgment gives conflicting dates for the filing of the Notice of Withdrawal: 18 June 2020 in the chronology but 16 June 2020 in the determination.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Savali v City Oil Kenya Ltd (Cause 462 of 2019) [2025] KEELRC 1670 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Cause as filed on 15 July 2019 (number not stated in the judgment). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1670/eng@2025-06-09
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.