The Employment and Labour Relations Court has dismissed an application seeking to suspend its earlier judgment nullifying the Dock Workers Union elections, clearing the way for fresh polls scheduled for August 13.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Justice Ocharo Kebira rejected attempts by former secretary general Sulman Otieno Owuor and six other officials to stop the implementation of the court's June 17 judgment, saying the application sought to preserve offices and an electoral outcome that had been declared unlawful.
The ruling means the June judgment remains fully in force, including the nullification of the April 4, 2026, union elections, the cancellation of the registration of officials elected during those polls, and the order directing fresh elections within 60 days.
The dispute arose after union members Matano Omar Shakombo and Abdala Nuru Ali successfully challenged the April elections, arguing the exercise was riddled with irregularities.
In its June judgment, the court found the elections were a sham and declared them null and void.
It also ordered the Registrar of Trade Unions to cancel the registration of the elected officials and directed that fresh elections be conducted under the election board that was in office before the disputed polls.
Following the judgment, the Registrar of Trade Unions cancelled the registration of the officials elected on April 4, corrected the union register and reinstated the officials who had been in office before the disputed elections pending fresh polls.
The union's National Executive Council subsequently fixed fresh elections for August 13, to be supervised by what it described as the duly constituted election board.
However, Owuor and six other officials lodged a notice of appeal and simultaneously sought orders suspending the implementation of the judgment pending the hearing of the appeal.
"The intended appeal raises serious constitutional and legal questions, including whether the court contradicted itself by stating that no valid elections took place while at the same time nullifying those elections," they argued.
They further contended the court relied solely on affidavit evidence to determine allegations of forgery, falsification of records and manipulation of attendance registers without hearing oral testimony or conducting forensic examinations.
The applicants also maintained that allowing fresh elections to proceed before the appeal was heard would render the appeal nugatory because a new leadership would already have assumed office.
They argued the Dock Workers Union, one of Kenya's most strategic trade unions representing thousands of workers in the maritime sector, risked institutional instability and competing claims to leadership if the judgment was implemented immediately.
However, the petitioners opposed the application, arguing the court had found the elections unlawful after a full hearing and the applicants had failed to demonstrate the substantial loss required for a stay of execution.
They submitted that any loss suffered could not arise from officials losing positions obtained through an electoral process that had already been declared unlawful.
They further argued the judgment had been substantially implemented after the registrar cancelled the officials' registration and preparations for fresh elections commenced.
In his analysis, Justice Kebira held that the central issue was that the court had declared the April elections null and void from the outset, meaning the offices claimed by the applicants had no lawful existence.
The judge further explained that while a stay of execution can temporarily suspend the enforcement of a judgment, it cannot breathe legal life into an electoral outcome already declared void.
"Granting the orders sought would effectively manufacture legitimacy for officials whose mandate had already been invalidated by the court," he said.
Justice Kebira further found the applicants had failed to demonstrate substantial loss, saying they merely faced the prospect of ceasing to occupy offices they were never lawfully entitled to hold.
"A person cannot found a claim of substantial loss upon the anticipated loss of a position that was unlawfully or irregularly acquired," the court held.
The court also found that public interest favoured the immediate implementation of the judgment rather than delaying fresh elections.
Justice Kebira noted that the Dock Workers Union represents thousands of workers in a sector of immense economic significance and that members deserved democratically elected and lawfully constituted leadership without unnecessary delays caused by litigation.
He said preserving officials whose mandate had already been declared unlawful would undermine trade union democracy and elevate the interests of a handful of office bearers above those of ordinary members.
The applicants had also questioned the composition of the election board, claiming several members were no longer eligible to serve after being promoted out of unionisable positions, while another member had been suspended.
However, the court declined to determine that issue within the stay application, ruling that it raised a separate dispute that should be addressed through appropriate legal proceedings.
The judge noted that another case challenging the composition of the election board had been filed and would proceed independently.
In dismissing the application, the court ruled that implementation of the June judgment should continue immediately.
"The Notice of Motion dated June 19, 2026, be and is hereby dismissed in its entirety," Justice Kebira ordered, directing that all consequential orders remain in force and awarding costs to the petitioners.
