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Former Kenya Tea Packers Limited (KETEPA) boss has lost an employment dispute against Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) Holdings.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Byram Ongaya dismissed KETEPA former Managing Director Albert Otochi’s case and ordered him to pay the cost of the case. Ketepa is KTDA’s subsidiary.

In the case, Otochi claimed he was wrongly dismissed as a Managing Director and his rights violated contrary to the Constitution of Kenya of KETEPA on June 25, 2021.

Otochi was employed as a managing director of KETEPA on December 10, 2019 but was sent on compulsory leave on June 25, 2021 and a process to replace him was initiated immediately.

However, he was sent on compulsory leave for a period of 90 days from June 25, 2021. Otochi moved to court after his employer initiated a process to replace him.

The case was settled early this year but Otochi still moved to court again demanding that he be compensated. He also asked the court to order KTDA to bear the cost of the case.

“The earlier Nairobi ELRC Cause No. E697 of 2022 was determined by the order given on 16.02.2023. The suit and all pending applications were marked settled by consent of the parties. To the extent that there are no events after that consent constituting a new cause of action, the Court returns that the petition is so barred.

It is that after the enjoyment of the fruits of the consent order in that previous suit with the same cause of action as the instant petition, the petitioner seeks to unjustly enrich himself by filing the instant petition. In any event, nothing stopped the petitioner from alleging the violations of the Bill of Rights in that previous suit and as was allowed by the Court’s rule and procedures,” said justice Ongaya.

He added, “The Court returns that by consent in the said earlier suit, the disputes between parties were conclusively resolved. The present petition is an abuse of court process and an attempt to unfairly circumvent the consent the parties reached in that previous suit. It cannot be that by that consent, the petitioner got reparation for all his injuries as was claimed and being the same alleged injuries herein, the petition is sustained.”

Otochi in the petitions argued that his rights were breached and the term of employment was fixed. He had since June 2021 been sent on compulsory leaves several times.