Nairobi, Kenya — A legal battle by more than 6,000 senior teachers seeking promotions and salary arrears dating back nearly 30 years has been dismissed by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which ruled the case was filed too late.
The teachers, under the lobby group Retired & About to Retire Members Welfare, led by Kepha Mwambala, wanted the court to compel the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to promote them from Primary Teacher 1 (P1) to Secondary Teacher (S1) and pay salary arrears amounting to Sh3.45 billion for the period between 1996 and 2010.
In their petition filed on March 5, 2025, the group argued that the TSC had unlawfully promoted untrained A-Level teachers in 1996 while sidelining those with formal teacher training, an act they labelled discriminatory and a violation of employment laws and constitutional rights.
However, Principal Judge Byram Ongaya dismissed the case, agreeing with TSC’s preliminary objection that the case was not constitutional in nature but an ordinary employment dispute, which should have been filed much earlier.
“The petitioners’ cause of action accrued sometime in 2010, and for unexplained reasons, they did not move to court until the filing of the instant petition,” Justice Ongaya stated.
The judge cited Section 89 of the Employment Act, which requires employment-related claims to be filed within three years, or within 12 months for continuing injury claims. He noted that the teachers failed to act within this legally prescribed window.
TSC’s lawyer, Cavin Anyuor, argued that the petitioners had deliberately disguised the case as a constitutional matter to bypass the strict legal deadlines under the Employment Act and Limitation of Actions Act.
Justice Ongaya agreed, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, effectively shutting the door on the teachers’ long-running push for promotions and arrears.
“No legitimate bar to file proceedings within the prescribed time of limitation has been pleaded,” the judge added.
The ruling deals a significant blow to the teachers, some of whom are still in active service, while others have already retired. The decision marks the end of their decades-long pursuit to correct what they termed as years of unfair treatment by their employer.
By Were Kelly
