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ELRCOtherNot stated in judgment

M’Meli v Pemwe Services Limited (Cause 153 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 3022 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
30 October 2025
OMONESMUS MAKAU
394 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
AI-assisted case brief
·~2 min to read original · ~4 min brief

The bottom line

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A Kenyan employment claim worth over Kshs. 736,000 collapsed because the worker had already withdrawn it in 2022 — the court could not revive it.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Claimant originally sued for Kshs. 400,851.30 in accrued employment benefits by a memorandum of claim dated 12th February 2018. Leave was granted in November 2018 to amend the claim to Kshs. 736,402.60, adding a claim for 12 months' compensation for unfair termination. After proceedings of 13th February 2019 were set aside on the Respondent's application in March 2019, the Claimant on 18th January 2022 sought to withdraw the amended Memorandum of Claim, and that withdrawal was granted by Onyango Judge on 14th February 2022. The suit was nevertheless fixed for hearing; the Respondent's counsel ceased acting, the Respondent stopped attending court, and on 9th December 2024 new counsel came on record for the Claimant and obtained leave for substituted service. On 2nd October 2025 the Claimant's counsel asked to prosecute the matter by written submissions on the statements and documents on record, which Makau J allowed. However, on perusing the record the court found that the suit had been fully withdrawn on 14th February 2022, leaving no pending suit upon which judgment could be rendered. The court accordingly found and held there was no suit pending and closed the case. No costs order was made and no authorities were cited.

Questions the Court framed

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The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.

  1. 1.Whether there was any pending suit before the court upon which a judgment could be rendered, given the Claimant's withdrawal of the amended Memorandum of Claim on 14th February 2022

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the court could proceed to judgment on the claim prosecuted by written submissions

Holding

No - the court found the suit had been fully withdrawn on 14th February 2022 when the Claimant withdrew the amended Memorandum of Claim, so there was no pending suit and the case was closed

Reasoning

The court traced the procedural history: leave to amend in 2018, hearing and setting aside of proceedings in 2019, and then on 14th February 2022 the Claimant's successful application to withdraw the amended Memorandum of Claim before Onyango Judge. Despite the matter later being fixed for hearing and counsel seeking to prosecute it by written submissions in 2025, the court held that the withdrawal had disposed of the amended claim, leaving nothing pending for determination.

p. 2

Legal principles established

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  • Where a memorandum of claim has been withdrawn with the court's leave, no suit remains pending and the court cannot render a judgment on it

Court orders

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  1. 1.The case is closed

The bench

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One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.

OM
majority

Wrote the judgment

Jurisdiction invoked
Original jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over a memorandum of claim for accrued employment benefits (statutory basis not expressly cited in the judgment)

Relief refused

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Claim of Kshs. 736,402.60 (amended claim including 12 months' compensation for unfair termination)

The amended Memorandum of Claim had already been withdrawn with the court's leave on 14th February 2022, leaving no live suit to adjudicate

p. 2

Costs

No costs order made in the judgment

Quotable passages

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Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.

Having carefully perused the court record, it emerged that the suit had been fully withdrawn on 14th February 2022 when the Claimant withdrew his amended Memorandum of Claim.
p. 2Withdrawal of amended claim
Consequently, I find and hold that there is no pending suit upon which I can render a Judgment. The case is closed.
p. 2Final orders - disposition

Issues in the judgment

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minor

The judgment does not state the case number, the parties' names, or the claimant's original claim amount in relation to the withdrawn amended claim, and no costs order is made despite the suit being disposed of

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "M’Meli v Pemwe Services Limited (Cause 153 of 2018) [2025] KEELRC 3022 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/3022/eng@2025-10-30

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.