Republic v Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited; Felix Nandi (Ex Parte Applicant)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Employment Court struck out a public-interest challenge to a KETRACO recruitment, confirming such cases must now go to the High Court.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction over public-interest challenges to recruitment processes
The ELRC lacks jurisdiction over a recruitment challenge brought purely in the public interest; such matters belong to the High Court
Following the Supreme Court's Gikenyi decision, the jurisdictional inquiry depends on both the nature of the dispute and the capacity in which the litigant sues. Section 12 of the ELRC Act confines the court to employment relationships; a public-interest litigant is outside those relationships and must resort to the High Court under the constitutional enforcement provisions.
Whether the preliminary objection was a pure point of law
The court effectively treated the objection as sustainable on the pleadings, holding the applicant's public-interest characterisation could not be cured
The applicant argued the objection rested on contested facts (his capacity), relying on Njau and Aviation & Allied Workers Union. The court nonetheless determined standing from the pleadings themselves, which framed the case exclusively as a public-interest challenge, and held the defect could not be cured by a further affidavit.
Effect of belated re-characterisation as a prospective employee
The shift from public-interest litigant to prospective employee, made after the jurisdictional challenge, does not cure the defect
The pleadings contained no averment that the applicant was a prospective employee, had applied or intended to apply for the advertised position, or held the prescribed qualifications. The re-characterisation arose only after the objection was raised and underscored rather than cured the jurisdictional defect.
Legal principles established
#- Employment disputes initiated in the public interest fall outside the ELRC's jurisdiction and belong to the High Court, per the Supreme Court's demarcation in Gikenyi
- A litigant who describes himself solely as acting in the public interest lacks standing before the ELRC
- Jurisdiction flows only from the Constitution or statute and a court must down tools once it finds it lacks jurisdiction
Court orders
#- 1.The suit is struck out for want of jurisdiction
- 2.No orders on costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Article 162(2)(a) of the Constitution and section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act; jurisdiction challenged under the Supreme Court's demarcation in the Gikenyi case
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Republic v Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited; Felix Nandi (Ex Parte Applicant)", Case Analysis (2026). Judicial Review Application No. E053 of 2026. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2026/2671/eng@2026-09-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.