Court orders Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission to reinstate staff

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Chief Executive Officer of the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) has been ordered to reinstate Henry Morara Ongwinyi to office as an education officer immediately.

After a yearlong court battle, Morara had a final laugh Thursday Morning when the court found that CEO Halakhe Waqo dismissed him without any reasons.

In a judgment read by Judge Hellen Wasilwa on behalf of Judge Maureen Onyango, the court found that the dismissal was unfair for failure to prove reasons.

 The petitioner had been dismissed for circulating malicious mails. But the court exonerated him.

 He moved to court through lawyer Harun Ndubi and sued the EACC, its former Chairman Mumo Matemu, former deputy commissioners Irene Keino and Jane Onsongo were the respondents.

Also in the suit was the Chief Executive Halakhe Waqo and Michael Mubea, the Chief Executive Officer – Operations at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Judge Maureen Onyango decided:  “I find that there was no evidence linking the petitioner to the impugned emails and there was no valid reason for dismissal of the petitioner on grounds that he was the author or transmitter of the emails.”

According to a sworn statement by Mary Kamaara, who has since been dismissed as the Human resource Manager at the EACC, the Director of criminal investigations conducted an investigation and tracked the malicious mails and disparaging publications that linked Mr Morara hence he was dismissed for gross misconduct.

Kamaara said, the mails from anonymous e-mail addresses were targeting the commission and its staff.

But the judges’ verdict found that EACC failed to comply with statutory procedure and its internal procedure.

The judgment found that there was collusion between the anti-graft body officials and the Director of criminal investigations to intimidate Mr Morara.

The judges' examination held that the circumstances under which the petitioners’ employment was terminated, his length of service and the conduct of especially the gross violation of the petitioner’s freedom through collusion by the respondents.

“The damages provided for under the employment Act for loss of employment would not adequately compensate the petitioner for the tribulations he was subjected to. I find that the facts of this case present very exceptional circumstances under which only re-in statement would be a just remedy,” reads part of the judgment.

Former EACC Commissioner Jane Onsongo told the court that she has never personally participated in the meeting where a decision to dismiss Morara was made.

“I am not privy to other allegations made by the claimant save for the information I received by the way of anonymous mails,” said Onsongo in her affidavit filed in court.

She further told the court that EACC made her believe that there would be investigations into the anonymous mails and she was still awaiting for the outcome of the intended investigations.

However, the Employment and labour court made a finding that the commission’s resolve to summarily dismiss Henry Morara for gross misbehavior under a clause of the commission’s Human resource manual was not proved.

Court held none of the dismissal procedures in the manual was followed by EACC: first, by counseling, then verbal warning and lastly written warning. Morara was neither explained to nor give a chance to defend himself before being dismissed.

Industrial court also found that a Criminal investigations officer, Hanington Chumba obtained warrants to search Morara’s houses in Buruburu and Nyeri by giving false information, ‘to the effect that he was undertaking investigations into alleged offence of threatening to kill contrary to section 225 of the penal code.’

“The respondents did not return the warrants to court as required by law, a fact that the petitioner raised many times and was not challenged.