Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui & another v Muguna & another; Omoke & 10 others (Interested Parties) (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E212 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2416 (KLR)
The bottom line
#The Employment Court paused its own judgment cancelling a Managing Director's contract renewal, preserving the status quo until the Court of Appeal hears the case.
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 entertain an application for stay of execution of its own judgment pending appeal, by dint of Rule 21(2) of the ELRC Procedure Rules, 2024 and the doctrine of functus officio
- 2.Whether the application for stay of execution pending appeal is merited
Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction to grant stay of the court's own judgment pending appeal
The court held that it has jurisdiction to grant stay orders pending appeal notwithstanding the functus officio objection and Rule 21(2) of the ELRC Procedure Rules, 2024.
The court considered Order 42 rule 6(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules, which permits stay where substantial loss may result and the application is made without unreasonable delay. Finding the application timeously filed and an appeal demonstrated, the court concluded it had jurisdiction and would not render the intended appeal nugatory. The security condition did not arise because the application was for injunctive relief with no monetary value.
Merits of the stay application
The application for stay as prayed was allowed.
The application was filed timeously on the day judgment was delivered, with a Notice of Appeal and Request for Typed Proceedings filed and served. Granting stay preserved the appeal; the security condition was inapplicable to injunctive reliefs of no monetary value. The court thus allowed the application for stay as prayed, with costs abiding the appeal.
Legal principles established
#- A court that has delivered final judgment retains jurisdiction under Order 42 rule 6(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules to grant stay of execution pending appeal.
- Where an applicant demonstrates that an appeal has been filed, refusing stay would render the intended appeal nugatory, satisfying the substantial loss condition.
Court orders
#- 1.The findings, holdings and conclusions in the judgment delivered on 22/05/2025 (that there was no indication of rare knowledge, skills and competencies; that the renewal of the 1st Respondent's contract beyond mandatory retirement age was illegal, null and void; and that recruitment of a substantive Managing Director should commence) are stayed pending the inter-partes hearing and determination of the application and the Applicants' application for interlocutory relief at the Court of Appeal
- 2.The costs of and incidental to the application shall abide the outcome of the appeal
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
Wrote the judgment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 73(2) of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules, 2024 adopting Order 42 Rule 6(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules
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 thus allows the application for stay as prayed. The costs will abide the outcome of the appeal.
It is my finding that based on the averments of the parties and on that order 42 rule 6(2) this court has jurisdiction to grant stay orders pending appeal.
The filing of an appeal demonstrates likelihood of substantial loss in case the appeal succeeds.
The issue of security does not arise at this stage, the application being basically for injunctive reliefs with no monetary value attached.
Issues in the judgment
#The Notice of Motion's first prayer is recorded only as 'spent', leaving the opening relief incomplete in the record.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui & another v Muguna & another; Omoke & 10 others (Interested Parties) (Employment and Labour Relations Petition E212 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2416 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Notice of Motion dated 23rd May 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/2416/eng@2025-09-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.