All civil servants who were against Covid-19 jabs have suffered a major setback after the Employment and Labour Relations Court declined their bid to stop the State from the mandatory vaccination.

While dismissing a suit by Members of the Kenya Catholic Doctors’ Association (KCDA), Justice James Rika said it is lawful for any of the public officers’ employers to stop their salaries and allowances for those who refuse the vaccine jab.

“The employers are justified to stop paying salaries in instances where public officers have deliberately refused to get covid-19 vaccination and instead opts to work from home,” the judge ruled.

He said that the public officers’ mandatory vaccination directive by the government of Kenya which was issued on August 23 last year by the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua does not amount to human medical experimentation.

“The court does not see the directive as being in violation of fair labour practice or fair administrative action rights,” ruled the judge.

The judge agreed with the Kinyua and the Attorney General Kihara Kariuki that the mandated vaccines have been approved by institutions such as World Health Organisation(WHO). 

The doctors had challenged the mandatory vaccination saying it’s discriminatory to all public officers who were not vaccinated. 

“The Head of Public Service directive, results in vaccination mandate, and is in violation of the constitutional rights and freedoms of Public Officers,” the doctors informed the court.

The Petitioners had further argued that vaccines are approved for emergency use only and there is no evidence of their effectiveness as the UN Nuremberg Code demands that informed consent of persons intended to be vaccinated, is obtained before vaccination.

Vaccine alternatives

They further argued that the said persons must in addition, be educated on alternatives to vaccines and their right to information must be observed and that there is ample evidence, showing that alternatives to vaccines, have reduced Covid-19 fatality rates, from 9.1 percent to 2.5 percent.

“Populations should not be forced to take vaccines that are many more times, likely to occasion serious side-effects and that the directive of Kintyu is meant to circumvent the right of the public officers, to preserve their dignity and health.