Justice Monica Mbaru of the Labour and Employment Relations Court on Thursday, December 1, ordered the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to reinstate former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kennedy Juma Mulunda who was sacked in July over allegations of abuse of office.
Justice Mbaru ruled that the commission had erred in the process of removing Mulunda from office in what she described as a premature and unfair procedure.
She added that the commission which sat to determine the case failed to accord the Deputy CEO a right to be heard hence casting doubts about fairness in the process.
The Labour and Employment court ordered the instant reinstatement of the fired official, with all benefits entitled to an official of his category.
“Whether the investigative committee was right or wrong, subjecting him to the motions of the law would have given him an opportunity to defend his employment. Such lapse resulted in unfair termination of his employment,” read the ruling in part.
“Employees’ right to be heard whenever an employer is contemplating terminating his contract is a sacrosanct right. It cannot be taken away through the invocation of an investigative committee report,” she ruled.
The move to terminate his contract had threatened to ferment discomposure in the commission which had initiated the process of replacing Mulunda.
Mulunda was sacked in July after a resolution by the TSC, which found him culpable.
He was accused of harassing headteachers and arbitrarily influencing their transfers using his position as the Deputy CEO of the commission.
In addition, Mulunda was accused of coercing school heads in an attempt to influence the award of tenders in the various schools which the select committee used to justify his dismissal.
“Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10 of your employment contract, the Commission has made a decision to terminate your employment contract with effect from June 20, 2022,” the resolution read.
He, however, denied the allegations and asserted his innocence despite the accusations from a section of teachers.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE
