Six former part-time lecturers at Egerton University have won a court battle after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the university violated their constitutional rights by failing to pay them for teaching services rendered, with some waiting for more than seven years for their dues.
The judgment delivered by the court declared that the prolonged delay in paying the lecturers amounted to an unfair labour practice and workplace discrimination, despite the university’s argument that underfunding by the government had left it struggling to meet its financial obligations. Justice James Rika ordered Egerton University to pay the lecturers more than KSh4.7 million in outstanding teaching fees, together with KSh100,000 in general damages to each lecturer for violating their constitutional rights.
The case was filed by Reuben Karuru, John Mbagara, Peter Wairigu, Francis Nderitu, Alex Mwaura and Joseph Mwai, who had worked as part-time lecturers at the university’s Nairobi Campus. The lecturers taught subjects including criminology, education, economics, statistics, psychology, anthropology, computer studies and international relations.
According to court records, they were engaged on hourly contracts and claimed they were never paid for hundreds of hours of teaching despite completing their assignments, supervising examinations and submitting all the required documentation for payment. They told the court they had repeatedly sought payment through university administrators, including the then Nairobi Campus Director, Dr. L.N. Kinuthia, who wrote to the university management urging that their dues be settled. Despite those efforts, the lecturers remained unpaid.
They sued the university seeking payment of their outstanding dues, declarations that their constitutional rights had been violated, compensation for psychological suffering and damages for unfair labour practices. Egerton University initially denied employing them as part-time lecturers.
However, during the hearing, the university’s Legal Officer, Janet Bii, conceded that all six lecturers had indeed taught at the institution and admitted that the university owed them money. The lecturers claimed more than KSh8.5 million collectively, while the university maintained that the actual outstanding amount was significantly lower. Bii explained that the university had accumulated massive debts because of inadequate government funding. She told the court that Egerton had pending bills amounting to approximately KSh9.2 billion and acknowledged that delayed payment affected even permanent employees. According to her, the university had been settling debts gradually depending on the age of each claim.
Justice Rika accepted that the university’s financial difficulties were genuine. He noted that underfunding of public universities had become a matter of public knowledge and acknowledged that the explanation was financially reasonable. However, the judge said financial hardship could not excuse violation of employment laws and constitutional rights.
“Employees’ remuneration is protected under the Employment Act. It must be paid when it falls due,” the judge stated.
He added that if an employer experiences financial difficulties, it should consult employees and agree on a reasonable payment plan instead of leaving them unpaid for years.
The court found that delaying payment for over seven years amounted to an unfair labour practice prohibited under Article 41 of the Constitution. Justice Rika also found that the lecturers had been subjected to workplace discrimination because some of their colleagues had been paid while they continued waiting for their dues.
“The Lecturers were equals and under Article 27 of the Constitution merited full and equal enjoyment of the right of remuneration for work of equal value,” the judge said.
While they produced attendance sheets, examination processing forms and payment schedules, the judge said they failed to clearly break down the documents to demonstrate how each amount claimed had been calculated. Instead, the court adopted the university’s own schedule of outstanding payments, describing it as more credible and comprehensive.
Under the judgment, Reuben Karuru will receive KSh180,000 in unpaid dues, John Mbagara KSh498,380, Peter Wairigu KSh567,040, Francis Nderitu KSh900,000, Alex Mwaura KSh846,000 and Joseph Mwai KSh778,050.
Each of the six lecturers will also receive KSh100,000 in general damages for violation of their constitutional rights to fair labour practices and freedom from discrimination.
