The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has ruled that Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited’s decision to place a senior manager on three months’ compulsory leave was illegal and unconstitutional.
In a judgment delivered by Principal Judge Byram Ongaya, the court ruled in favour of Eng. Antony Tawayi Wamukota, General Manager for Design and Construction at KETRACO.
The court found that the compulsory leave violated his constitutional right to fair administrative action under Article 47, which guarantees lawful, reasonable, procedurally fair administrative decisions supported by written reasons.
Justice Ongaya noted that the leave was imposed without due process and exceeded the statutory limit of 30 working days under Regulation 62 of the Public Service Commission Regulations. The judge described the action as unreasonable, highlighting that it amounted to double jeopardy and contravened principles of natural justice.
Eng. Wamukota had previously undergone a full disciplinary process concerning the procurement and transportation of transformers, which was concluded in June 2024. Despite this, KETRACO’s board placed him on compulsory leave in September 2025, citing new information and ongoing forensic investigations.
The court held that once the initial disciplinary process had been concluded, KETRACO had become functus officio and could not lawfully reopen the matter or subject Eng. Wamukota to further action based on the same allegations. Justice Ongaya stressed that while employers may place employees on compulsory leave to facilitate investigations, the power must be exercised lawfully and cannot be used to punish or revive settled disciplinary cases.
As a result, the court revoked the letter placing Eng. Wamukota on leave, ordered his immediate reinstatement, and permanently restrained KETRACO from initiating any further disciplinary action against him over the same matter.
