• Embattled chairman Mohamed Sheria calls meeting, explains to members the withdrawal of a suit filed by Sang challenging the privatisation of the second container terminal (CT2).
• Dock Workers Union collecting signatures to remove the secretary general.
Leadership wrangles in the Dock Workers Union deepened when a rival faction began collecting signatures seeking to remove secretary general Simon Sang.
Embattled chairman Mohamed Sheria on Thursday called a meeting and explained to members why he withdrew a suit filed by Sang, Muhuri, and Taireni Association of Mijikenda. The petition was challenging the privatisation of the second container terminal (CT2).
Sheria said the union did not sanction the court move.
“I have explained everything to the members, now they see the true colours of their general secretary,” Sheria saids at Koblenz Hall where he met the members.
“They have now decided it is time Sang went home. He is not working for them."
The chairman accused Sang of being responsible for the sacking of at least 423 port workers including and seven managers.
Vice chairman Gunda Kaneno said Sang is like "a carcass in a room surrounded by hungry dogs".
Sheria said his role as chairman is to ensure the union’s constitution is followed and to protect the interests of members. He accused Sang of frustrating his efforts to protect the union members against selfish interests from external forces.
“We are collecting signatures so that we petition for his removal in court,” said Sheria.
He said Sang contravened three key constitutional requirements, which form the grounds for his removal in the petition. He said he unilaterally increased the union’s subscription by Sh120 without approval from a union conference.
“He also took a case to court to supposedly challenge the non-existent privatisation of the CT2 without approval of the board,” Sheria said.
He also accused Sang of pocketing Sh3 million members' money but failed to travel to Europe for a benchmarking trip two years ago.
“Our employer had to recover the money by deducting the money from our members,” Sheria said.
On Thursday, the court struck out the DWU from the petition after the union's board hired lawyer Oduori Simiyu to file a withdrawal of the suit.
However, Sang on Thursday said he intends to counter the board’s move.
“We shall appeal up to the international court,” he said in a text message he sent to journalists from abroad.
He is out of the country on another benchmarking trip.
Meanwhile, the petition challenging the privatisation of the second container terminal at the Port of Mombasa has been sent to Chief Justice David Maraga to establish a panel to hear it.
The High Court in Mombasa on Thursday evening ruled that the CJ should constitute a bench to hear the petition filed by the Dock Workers Union, Muslim for Human Rights and Taireni Association of Mijikenda.
Mombasa judge Patrick Ochieng ruled that the petition raises weighty constitutional issues. This is despite two major petitioners, DWU and Muhuri pulling out of the matter. Taireni Association of Mijikenda is the only party remaining as a petitioner in the case.
While delivering the ruling, the judge said the petition raises very substantial public interest and constitutional issues, therefore, the Chief Justice should constitute a panel to hear the matter.
He said the withdrawal of Muhuri and DWU does not affect the case.
“The matter raises weighty constitutional and public interest issues. The petitioner wants the matter to be sent to the Chief Justice to constitute a panel and none of the parties has raised any objection. The issue has therefore been certified and the file should be transmitted to the Chief Justice latest by Monday July 22,” ruled Otieno.
At the same time, Justice Otieno allowed three more parties to be enjoined in the petition.
Seafarers Union of Kenya and a private citizen Mohammed Mawira were enjoined as the fourth and fifth interested parties, respectively, whereas the National Assembly was enjoined as a third respondent.
In the original petition, DWU, Taireni Association of Mijikenda and Muhuri were listed as petitioners.
The Attorney General and the Transport Cabinet Secretary had been named as the first and second respondent, whereas KPA, Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Kenya Seafarers Welfare Association had been listed as first, second and third interested parties.
The AG, Transport Cabinet Secretary, KPA, MSC have said they will appeal against Justice Otieno’s ruling of sending the file to the Chief Justice.
During the hearing, the petition was adjourned after the DWU board opted out and Muhuri’s name was struck out of the petition.
Muhuri, however, has already filed a different petition before the same court to oppose the privatisation of the port. The petition went through and will be heard on July 24.
Earlier on, the DWU board told the court that its secretary general Simon Sang filed the petition without consulting other members.
Lawyer Oduori Siminyu, who appeared on behalf of the DWU board, said Sang acted on his own behalf without the approval of the board.
“According to the constitution of the DWU, there should be an executive meeting of the board before filling any matter to court. There was no such meeting, and therefore this was a unilateral decision by Sang," Siminyu said.
He said after the DWU board realised that a petition had been filed in court, they appointed him as their lawyer to apply for the matter to be discontinued.
“That was the personal decision of the secretary. The union wants to be removed from the proceedings because they never filed the case,” Siminyu said.
However, lawyer Arnold Ochieng, holding brief for lawyer Alfred Nyandieka, who was appointed by Sang to represent them, said they were still the DWU lawyers on record.
“On the issue of representation in this court, the secretary general is the only one with an authority to talk on behalf of the union. The secretary has not given authority to change the DWU lawyer and has not informed us of such information. Therefore, Nyandieka is still properly on record,” Ochieng said.