Automated Summary
Key Facts
The case involves John Mutua Muia (Appellant) challenging his termination from Cale Infrastructure Construction Company Ltd. He was employed as a dumper driver under an hourly contract in 2020 and terminated on 15th June 2021 after project completion, with a 30-day notice he acknowledged. The Appellant claimed procedural and substantive unfairness, arguing the dismissal was unlawful. The Employment and Labour Relations Court dismissed the appeal, finding no merit in the claims and noting the Appellant failed to raise sick leave issues during separation. The court upheld the lower court's decision, ordering each party to bear their own costs.
Issues
- The sixth issue is whether the Learned Magistrate failed to exercise proper discretion in considering the Appellant's case and disregarded his legal submissions.
- The first issue is whether the Learned Magistrate correctly evaluated the totality of evidence and considered the Appellant's submissions, leading to the dismissal of the Claimant Claim.
- The seventh issue is whether the Learned Magistrate showed prejudice by ignoring the Appellant's Counsel's legal submissions and authorities, leading to an erroneous conclusion.
- The fifth issue is whether the Learned Magistrate erred by relying on the Respondent's unproven evidence when determining the Appellant's burden of proof for unlawful dismissal.
- The second issue is whether the Learned Magistrate showed extreme prejudice by ignoring the Respondent's witnesses' inconsistent testimony, leading to an erroneous conclusion.
- The eighth issue is whether the Learned Magistrate improperly relied on the Respondent's irrelevant legal authorities without addressing the case's circumstances.
- The fourth issue is whether the Learned Magistrate ignored evidence showing the Appellant was not paid all his dues.
- The third issue is whether the Learned Magistrate erred by not considering the Respondent's lack of procedural and substantive fairness in the Appellant's dismissal.
Holdings
- The court is inclined to dismiss the appeal with orders that each party bears their costs of the same.
- The Appellant failed to discharge the burden of proof for his case, which is a critical factor in the court's decision.
Remedies
- The appeal was dismissed in toto as it lacks merit and is not supported by law or evidence.
- Each party is ordered to bear their own costs of the appeal.
Legal Principles
- the Appellant fails to recharge his burden of proof for his case.
- We must at this stage remind ourselves that though this is a first appeal to us and while we are perfectly entitled to make our own findings on the evidence, the trial judge has in face made clear and unequivocal findings and as an appellate court we must indeed be very slow to interfere with the trial judge's findings unless we are satisfied that either there was absolutely no evidence to support the findings or that the trial judge must have misunderstood the weight and bearing of the evidence before him and thus arrived at an unsupportable conclusion.
Precedent Name
Musera vs. Mwechelesi & Another
Judge Name
D. K. Njagi Marete
Passage Text
- I am therefore inclined to dismiss the appeal with orders that each party bears their costs of the same.
- We must at this stage remind ourselves that though this is a first appeal to us and while we are perfectly entitled to make our own findings on the evidence, the trial judge has in face made clear and unequivocal findings and as an appellate court we must indeed be very slow to interfere with the trial judge's findings unless we are satisfied that either there was absolutely no evidence to support the findings or that the trial judge must have misunderstood the weight and bearing of the evidence before him and thus arrived at an unsupportable conclusion.
- 7. Notice was issued to the Appellant and he acknowledged the same. He cannot now be heard to complain and raise issues of sick off which were never raised at the time of separation. This appeal in toto lacks merit. It is not supported on any basis in law and evidence.