• Joseph Kivilu was suspended in 2016 after alleged examination malpractices.
• He sued Knec in 2017.
Image: FILE
A former chief executive officer at the Kenya National Examination Council has been awarded Sh8 million by a labour court for unfair dismissal.
Joseph Kivilu was suspended in 2016 after alleged examination malpractices. He sued Knec in 2017.
He told the court that no disciplinary action had been made against him nor any criminal charges preferred since his suspension.
Kivilu said that on April 4, 2016, Knec issued him a show-cause letter. He responded on April 12, 2016. A disciplinary hearing was never held following his response.
He said he was forced to report weekly to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations offices. Kivilu remained suspended for a year.
He was unable to meet his financial obligations to his family. It caused him a lot of mental anguish. The now-suspended CEO resigned on March 24, 2017.
He states that the decision was not voluntary. The indefinite suspension was contrary to the right to fair labour practices, he said.
Kivilu submitted that he was arrested but no charges were preferred against him.
He said he was entitled to the accrued leave agreed at 97.5 days, general damages for dismissal, three months’ pay in lieu of notice, interest and cost of the suit.
The examination council through corporation secretary Betty Jemugor Bisem said she is aware of the consent recorded in court on November 26, 2018. The parties had agreed on 97.5 leave days.
She stated that leave is pegged on basic salary and their computation amounted to Sh1,170,000.
The witness said that on the three months pay in lieu of notice, Kivilu was the one to pay Knec as he resigned.
She said following the 2015 KCSE exam malpractices, a new council was appointed. The council resolved to suspend the CEO pending investigations. She said the disciplinary process was ongoing when Kivilu resigned.
On cross-examination, the witness said that Knec’s human resource manual stated that suspension does not exceed six months.
She said Kivilu was not called for any disciplinary hearing as was required.
On August 6, Employment and Labour Relations judge Maureen Onyango ruled that Knec failed to comply with its own human resource manual.
“I find that in the circumstances herein, the Respondent was guilty of subjecting the Claimant to such hardship that the Claimant was no longer able to continue with the employment and was entitled to repudiate the same. I, therefore, find that the Claimant has proved constructive dismissal by the Respondent,” the judge ruled.
The court noted that Kivilu was arrested but never charged and kept on suspension without pay for almost one year.
Kivilu was awarded Sh1,755,000 annual leave, Sh1,566,000 in lieu of notice and compensation of Sh6.2 million for constructively being dismissed.
“I have further taken into account the Claimant’s position being that of Chief Executive Officer and the publicity surrounding his arrest and suspension from office. I thus find that this is a case that deserves maximum compensation which I accordingly award the Claimant at Sh6,264,000,” Justice Onyango ruled.