This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
On December 19, 2019, a Kenyan court made a landmark ruling in favor of Emma Mwongeli Mwema, a former director for institutional banking at the National Bank of Kenya (NBK).
The court found that NBK had violated labor laws when it terminated Mwema's services in 2015.
According to a 22-page judgment by Lady Justice Maureen Onyango, Mwema's rights were violated when she was forced to resign under duress.
Justice Onyango ruled that Mwema was 'lured into resigning by the human resource director by the threat she faced imminent dismissal if she did not immediately resign.'
The court also found that the termination of Mwema's employment was procedurally unfair and a violation of Section 43 of the Employment Act.
As a result, the court ordered NBK to pay Mwema Sh5.7 million for the illegal sacking, Sh1.4 million for being sacked without a three months' notice, and her costs of the case, which will be assessed by the deputy registrar of the high court.
Mwema was sacked on February 16, 2015, after joining NBK on February 1, 2013.
