Court awards ex-NBK boss Sh26 million for unfair sack

 National Bank of Kenya former Chief Executive Officer Munir Ahmed.

The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) will pay former Chief Executive Officer Munir Ahmed Sh26 million for unfairly sacking him.

In a verdict that exonerates him from being at the heart of losses incurred by the lender, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi ruled that he was not given a fair hearing.

Justice Byrum Ngaya faulted NBK’s board, noting that the external audit did not apportion any guilt on Munir for the Sh1.2 billion loss by the lender.

According to the judge, Munir’s employer had him take the bullet alone while the loss of funds could have been as a result of someone else’s laxity or negligence.

“While the court reckons that the subsequently reported loss of Sh1.2 billion reflected adversely on the respondent, its board, management, and other staff, as urged for the petitioner, a return of a loss is an inherent possibility in any business enterprise and by itself (alone) does not establish misconduct or poor performance on the part of the CEO like in the case of the petitioner or indeed, against the other staff or the board,” the judge ruled.

He said such reported loss and flowing from adjustments of initially unaudited financial statements may be a symptom of misconduct or poor performance on the part of the board or staff.

He noted that in the instant case, no such misconduct or poor performance has been established. Munir was summarily dismissed on March 31, 2016.