Friendship Containers Manufacturers Limited v Sibwoga & another (Appeal E295 of 2024) [2025] KEELRC 2794 (KLR)

The claim was filed in 2016, after WIBA commenced but before the Supreme Court decision in Law Society of Kenya v Attorney General. The High Court's 2009 declaration of nullity of sections 16, 23(1) and 52 of WIBA created a legitimate expectation that claimants could lodge claims in court. The court adopted its earlier decision in Chenje v Kibo, holding the Practice Directions valid under the doctrine of necessity to promote access to justice, with no prejudice to the appellant.

The contract of employment required the employer to provide the claimant with PPE; the claimant was not a party to the contract for services between the Appellant and the 2nd Respondent and could not invoke it. The trial court's reliance on the Occupiers Liability Act was against submissions, and no evidence showed any dangerous state of the premises or breach of an occupier's duty. Liability at 100% was substituted onto the 2nd Respondent.

The trial court imposed a global figure without justification, contrary to the principle that awards must be guided by comparable precedent. The injuries (partial amputations of the distal phalanges of the right index and middle fingers, 1% incapacity) were comparable to but less severe than the amputations in Kaluworks, where Kshs. 800,000 was upheld in 2020.

Loss of earnings is a special damage requiring specific pleading and strict proof. On cross-examination the claimant had no proof of dismissal, no medical or other proof of inability to work, and the claim for termination lay under the Employment Act against his employer, not the Appellant. A payslip proved earnings but not the loss.