A Kisumu Employment and Labour relations court has awarded a sacked Kakamega county executive committee member Ksh. 3.6 million for wrongful dismissal.
Former Kakamega county CEC in charge of Labour, Social Services, Culture, Youth and Sports Jamin Shitsukane in 2015 sued the Kakamega county under the leadership of Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for sacking him before his contract of service expired.
Mr. Shitsukane who was represented by Geoffrey Yogo argued that his constitutional rights were violated given that he was dismissed without notice and the due process was not followed contradicting article 236 of the Constitution.
“I was appointed through a contract of five years from 14th of June 2013, on the 17th of March 2015 in a public gathering Governor Oparanya verbally purported to terminate my contract and later wrote me a letter terminating my contract without giving any reason,” Shitsukane stated in his court submissions.
He further contended that he was not accorded fair hearing before terminating his contract “contrary to article 41(d) and 50(1) of the constitution and trite principal of natural justice.”
Shitsukane was among two executives sacked in March 2015 alongside Violet Amugira (Education) at a press briefing held at the Kakamega County headquarters.
Granting the Ksh. 3.6 million damage sum, Lady Justice Maureen Onyango declined to reinstate the executive as he had wished or have his entire salary of the remaining term in office paid.
“It is my opinion that it will not be in public interest to order the return of the petitioner to office which requires him to work very closely with the governor. It would also be unconscionable to compensate the petitioner for the whole of the remainder of his term in office as I expected him to find other engagements elsewhere,” reads part of the judgement.
She also ordered that the respondents in the suit Oparanya and the county of Kakamega pay for the cost of the petition.
In February 2016 Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma and his government were ordered by the same court to pay five executives sums of Ksh. 3.6 million each, plus the cost of the suit for undue dismissal.
Ranguma had fired county executive committee members, Stephen Orot (Agriculture), Rhoda Obadha (Environment), Joseph Okal (Finance), Barack Abonyo (Water) and Vincent Kodera (Roads), on January 30 2016 over what he termed non-performance.