I have given due consideration to the Chamber Summons dated 24th March 2023, the Verifying Affidavit, the Statutory Statement, and the Annexures in support of the Application as a result of which I have appreciated the issues raised. The applicants have moved to this court as a result of loss of employment.
In the exercise of my judicial discretion, I form the considered view that the issues raised in the Application do not fit into the purview of judicial review.
There exist clear legal provisions and procedures within The Employment Act and Article 162 of The Constitution that the Applicants can invoke should they be persuaded that they lost their employment as a result of an unfair or unprocedural manner or decision by the employer.
During the hearing of the dispute, the Applicants can effectively front their case through chief examination and cross-examination where the appropriate court would arrive at a decision after considering all the supporting documents within a statutory framework in the Employment Act. Unlike this court, The Employment and Labour Relations Court has the appropriate jurisdiction to issue appropriate remedies should it be satisfied that a proper case has been made out by the Applicant.
In any event,Section 9(2) of the Fair Administrative Action Act, 2015 stipulates that The High Court or a subordinate court under sub-section (1) shall not review an administrative action or decision under this Act unless the mechanisms including internal mechanisms for appeal or review and all remedies available under any other written law are first exhausted. The Applicant has not exhausted the provisions of The Employment and Labour Relations Act.
This court is not satisfied that the Applicants have a meritorious case that would persuade this court to exercise its discretionary powers under Order 53 of The Civil Procedure Rules granting the leave as sought. The court is guided by the Supreme Court Judgment in MNK v POM; Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) (Amicus Curiae) (Petition 9 of 2021) [2023] KESC 2 (KLR) (Family) (27 January 2023).
The Application application lacks merits and the same is hereby is struck out with costs.