Friends School Kaimosi Girls High School in Vihiga County has successfully overturned a Ksh 845,378 award that had been issued against it in a dispute over alleged unpaid supplies of bread and flour.
In a recent judgment delivered at the High Court at Siaya, Justice David Kemei allowed an appeal filed by the school’s Board of Management (BOM) and set aside a decision of the Siaya Small Claims Court that had ordered the institution to pay Alicia Bakers and Confectioners Limited the claimed amount plus Sh40,000 in costs.
The case stemmed from a suit filed by the bakery, which claimed it supplied bread and flour to the school between 2016 and 2023 and was not fully paid. The company argued that despite receiving partial payments over the years, a balance of Ksh 845,378 remained outstanding.
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The Siaya Small Claims Court had ruled in favour of the bakery in August 2025, prompting the school’s Board of Management to challenge the decision at the High Court. In its appeal, the Board questioned the validity of the alleged contract and argued that there was no sufficient proof that the goods were delivered to the institution.
During the appeal hearing, the bakery’s accountant produced invoices, demand letters, bank deposit slips and a Local Purchase Order dated 2018. However, he admitted that the company did not have signed delivery certificates to confirm receipt of the goods. Instead, the bakery relied on delivery notes said to have been signed by a former librarian at the school.
The school disputed the authenticity and reliability of the documents presented. Its foreman told the court that institutional stamps can be forged and maintained that the alleged deliveries had not taken place.
In his ruling, Justice Kemei emphasised that under Kenyan law, the burden of proof lies with the party making a claim. He noted that while invoices and internal statements of account may support a transaction, they are not conclusive evidence of delivery without accompanying signed delivery notes or other independent confirmation.
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The judge observed that several invoices presented by the bakery lacked corresponding delivery documents acknowledged by authorised school officials. He further held that internal statements of account prepared by the claimant could not, on their own, establish that goods were received by the school.
“The respondent, having failed to present credible evidence of delivery, cannot rely on sympathy to legitimise its claim,” Justice Kemei stated.
He concluded that the Small Claims Court had erred in finding in favour of the bakery without sufficient proof and proceeded to overturn the award. The court also ordered the bakery to bear the costs of the appeal.
By Benedict Aoya
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