A Labour and Industrial Relations court has ordered Cabinet Secretary for Education Fred Matiangi and the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) to compensate former Vice Chancellor (VC) Josphat Mwatela for unlawful sacking.
Justice Onesmus Makau sitting in Mombasa ruled that Matiang’i had no legal and contractual authority to fire former VC.
“Consequently, I find and hold that the termination of the claimant’s contract by the said letter from the CS was unlawful because it was not written by claimants employer, it was an illegal punishment because the CS had no privity of contract between the claimant and TUM and by terminating the contract, the CS had illegally descended from his throne of rendering advice and policy guidance to the University Council and wallowed into the private contractual relationship between the claimant and his employer,” said Makau.
The judge further said the CS had ignored an advice by the Attorney General who had told him to follow the due process of the law because he had no power over employment of university vice chancellors.
Justice Makau directed the university to pay his six month gross salary in lieu, 12 months gross salary as compensation for his unfair termination and all benefits and terminal dues accruing from his contract of the employment.
“Under section 49(1) of the employment Act, if the court finds that the contract of the employment has been unfairly terminated by the employer, the court has the mandate to order for compensation and as such I issue orders for the claimant to be paid all his dues and benefits that have accrued under his contract of employment,” said Justice Makau.
Makau further directed for the accruals to be calculated by TUM in writing and the tabulation be filed in court within 30 days.
The matter will be mentioned on March 31 this year.
