The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisii has ordered Maasai Mara University to pay 19 former part-time lecturers Ksh10.19 million in unpaid dues for work they did between 2014 and 2016.
The lecturers had taught at the university’s former Kisii and Kilgoris campuses before raising complaints over unpaid salaries.
The dispute was taken to the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) in 2019, leading to an investigation into the lecturers’ claims and the university’s handling of the unpaid dues.
The commission found that the university had taken too long to settle the payments and directed it to pay the lecturers within 12 months. It also required the university to submit a payment plan within 60 days.
According to the court judgment, the university later confirmed that about 80 per cent of the claims had been verified as genuine.
However, the lecturers remained unpaid, prompting them to move to court.
The university challenged the case, arguing that the former lecturers had not provided enough documents to prove their employment and the amounts they were claiming.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau, however, found that the university had changed its position several times while dealing with the claims. At different stages, the institution cited budgetary constraints before later indicating that it would settle the outstanding payments.
The judge found that the university had violated the lecturers’ right to fair administrative action as provided under Article 47 of the Constitution.
“The 1st Respondent (Maasai Mara University) has brought this matter upon itself,” Justice Nzioki wa Makau said in the judgment.
The court ordered the university to pay the 19 lecturers a combined Ksh10.19 million.
Individual awards ranged from Ksh78,000 to more than Ksh1.6 million, depending on the work each lecturer had performed at the two campuses.
The university was also ordered to pay interest on the outstanding amounts at court rates from the date of the judgment until the money is paid in full.
In addition, Maasai Mara University will meet the costs of the case.
The lecturers had also sued the National Assembly over its handling of the CAJ findings.
However, the court dismissed that part of the case, finding that the material presented before it did not meet the requirements for Parliament to begin the statutory process against the university.
