Taita Taveta County Ordered To Reinstate Public Service Board Ex-CEO With 12 Months’ Pay For Unprocedural Redeployment

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has ordered Taita Taveta County Public Service Board to reinstate its former secretary/chief executive officer to a position commensurate to her qualifications....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

In enforcing a Public Service Commission decision in favour of Ms Elipida Mwakamba, the court ordered that she shall be paid 12 months’ salary for unprocedural re-deployment from the position of the secretary/ceo of the board to the Directorate of Urban Areas Administration.

Justice Agnes Nzei, sitting in Mombasa, while adopting the decision of the commission as judgement of the court, noted that parties could not at this stage purport to fault the commission’s decision reinstating Ms Mwakamba into service.

“Any party questioning the merits, validity, legality and regularity of the decision or procedure leading to it ought to have moved the court by way of judicial review proceedings within the time prescribed in law and sought appropriate orders,” ruled Justice Nzei.

Justice Nzei noted that no judicial review proceedings were shown to have been taken out and that the commission’s decision has since vested (guaranteed as a legal right) and must be complied with.

“This court cannot sit in an appeal over the decision but can enforce it in accordance with the statute,” ruled Justice Nzei.

To comply or not

She further said that Taita Taveta County Public Service Board and its officials cannot arrogate themselves the luxury of deciding whether or not to comply with the commission’s decision.

According to the court, any person failing or refusing to implement the commission’s decision risks being subjected to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to the Public Service Commission Act.

Ms Mwakamba filed an application in court seeking to have the decision of the PSC reinstating her into service, payment of withheld salaries and allowance and payment of 12 months’ salary as compensation for unprocedurally deployment be recognised, adopted and enforced as judgement of the court and a decree issued.

She argued that on June 22 2017, the board unprocedurally removed her from and purportedly deployed her as a director, urban areas administration, a position which was non-existent at the time and which was lower than her job group.

The applicant said that despite the illegalities, she discharged her duties in the new designation until September 17, 2019 when the board terminated her employment on grounds that she was an employee of the county government of Kilifi and was irregularly deployed to the board.

Ms Mwakamba told the court that she appealed to the commission which heard both parties and made a decision reinstating her to service and directing the respondent to pay 12 months’ salary for irregular deployment.

She said that in utter contempt, on June 30 last year, the board issued her an end of contract letter to allow her access her gratuity.

The board opposed the application by Ms Mwakamba arguing that it did not remove her from office as it was not within its jurisdiction.

It argued that Ms Mwakamba had been deployed as Secretary to the board on a six years’ non-renewable contract which she fully served and was paid her dues for the period upto June 2019 when her contract ended.

The board argued that Ms Mwakamba’s appeal to the commission was irregular as she had already been cleared as an employee of the county government of Taita Taveta by the time she was making the appeal.

It also argued that the decision of the commission directing the board to reinstate her was unprocedural since it was the same commission that had made the decision to second her for three years for her to serve her contract.

Taita Taveta County Public Service Board further claimed that it never employed Ms Mwakamba but the office of the governor did…CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>