Court orders Kisii county to pay Sh217m salary arrears

 

Kisii Governor Simba Arati when appeared before the Senate Commitee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations at Bunge Towers, Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Court of Appeal has ordered the Kisii County Government to pay Sh217 million in salary arrears to workers after a prolonged legal battle led by Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU).

The judgment, delivered by Justices Asike-Makhandia, Hellen Omondi, and Luka Kimaru, upheld a previous ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court which had directed the county government to settle dues owed to employees of defunct local authorities.

The case stems from a claim filed by the KCGWU, representing workers of various defunct local authorities, including the Municipal Council of Kisii, Tabaka, Gucha, Suneka, Nyamarambe, Masimba, Ogembo, Keroka and the Gusii County Council. 

The union, through lawyer Ochieng Oginga, originally sought Sh220 million in unpaid salary arrears. In 2022, the labour court ruled in favour of the workers, ordering Kisii County to pay Sh217,317,562 of the outstanding dues. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the county government sought to block its execution by moving to the Court of Appeal.