- Nineteen former Maasai Mara University part-time lecturers have secured Sh10.19 million for teaching work dating back over a decade.
- The court found the university violated their right to fair administrative action after their payment claims remained unresolved.
- Hillary Muhalya examines how the decade-long dispute moved from university classrooms through administrative intervention and eventually to court.
A decade-old pay dispute has ended in a courtroom victory for 19 former Maasai Mara University lecturers, with the institution ordered to pay millions for teaching work performed between 2014 and 2016.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisii has ordered Maasai Mara University to pay the 19 former part-time lecturers a combined Sh10.19 million, bringing a long-running dispute over unpaid remuneration to a judicial conclusion.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau found that the university violated the lecturers’ constitutional right to fair administrative action after their claims remained unresolved despite an investigation and recommendations by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ).
The lecturers had worked at the university’s former Kisii and Kilgoris campuses between 2014 and 2016. After their remuneration remained outstanding, they turned to the CAJ in 2019.
The commission investigated the complaints and found that the university had unreasonably delayed dealing with the claims. It directed the institution to settle the dues within 12 months and submit a payment plan within 60 days.
The dispute nevertheless continued.
According to the judgment, the university subsequently acknowledged that about 80 per cent of the claims had been verified as genuine, but the lecturers remained unpaid.
The university later contested the matter in court, arguing that the lecturers had not supplied adequate documentation to prove their employment and the amounts they were claiming.
The court found that the university had taken different positions during the prolonged dispute. It had cited budgetary constraints at one stage and later indicated that it would settle the outstanding amounts.
Justice Nzioki consequently found the university responsible for violating the lecturers’ right to fair administrative action under Article 47 of the Constitution.
The individual awards range from Sh78,000 to more than Sh1.6 million, depending on the work performed by each lecturer at the two former campuses.
The university must additionally pay interest at court rates from the date of judgment until full payment, as well as the costs of the proceedings.
The lecturers had also sued the National Assembly over its handling of the CAJ findings. The court dismissed that portion of the case after finding that the material presented did not activate the statutory process requiring Parliament to take action.
Cost of prolonged disputes
The case is more than a dispute over Sh10.19 million. It raises a broader question about what happens when workers perform their duties but payment disputes remain unresolved for years.
The lecturers’ claims were connected to work performed between 2014 and 2016. Their journey from the classroom to the CAJ and eventually to court illustrates how an unresolved employment dispute can move through several layers of accountability before reaching a judicial determination.
The financial consequences can also become heavier with time.
Interest has now been attached to the awards, while the university must also meet the costs of the litigation. This means that an obligation that remained unresolved for years can ultimately carry additional financial consequences beyond the original remuneration claimed.
The university’s historical financial records provide further context. Its financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2020, listed Sh146.2 million owed to part-time lecturers among outstanding obligations.
An Auditor-General’s report covering public universities for the 2021/2022 financial year also documented financial difficulties at Maasai Mara University. It reported negative working capital of Sh75.09 million and said the institution was unable to meet obligations involving staff salaries, part-time lecturers and statutory deductions totalling Sh353.6 million.
Those historical figures should not be confused with the Sh10.19 million awarded in this particular case. They nevertheless demonstrate that financial obligations involving academic workers have previously been a significant issue for the institution.
The judgment therefore sends a wider administrative message: where a public institution receives employment claims, verification, communication and timely administrative action matter.
Financial constraints may complicate payment, but they do not necessarily resolve the underlying obligation.
For the affected lecturers, the immediate issue is now implementation of the court order.
For the university, the case represents another reminder that unresolved employment disputes can remain alive long after the work itself has been completed.
And for academic workers across the country, the case highlights the importance of keeping employment records, documenting services rendered and pursuing legitimate claims through established administrative and legal channels.
The 19 lecturers began this journey with work performed more than a decade ago.
READ ALSO: Illicit alcohol crisis threatens schools in Kirinyaga as children gain easy access
They have now secured a court order determining what they are owed.
By Hillary Muhalya
Get more stories from our website: Education News
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
