The Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) is set to deliver judgment on December 18, 2025, in a case that has exposed serious allegations of impunity, misrepresentation, and forgery within the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET).
Court documents filed before the ELRC paint a troubling picture of how the union’s National Executive Board (NEB) allegedly pushed through constitutional amendments without following due process, undermining internal democracy and members’ participatory rights.
The pleadings accuse senior union officials of relying on questionable documents to justify changes that fundamentally altered the governance structure of the union.
According to the materials placed before court, the NEB claimed that several branch general assemblies approved the proposed constitutional amendments.
However, the documents annexed to the pleadings allegedly conflict with official notices circulated to members at the time, raising doubts about whether the amendments were ever lawfully deliberated upon at branch level.
One of the key examples cited is the KUPPET Mombasa Branch.
In an affidavit, Deputy Secretary General Thurima is said to have deponed that the branch’s General Assembly deliberated on and approved the constitutional amendments.
Yet, evidence presented to court indicates that the original notice convening the Mombasa Branch General Assembly did not list constitutional amendments as part of the agenda.
The contradiction has raised fundamental questions before the court about the authenticity of the records relied upon by the NEB and whether members were accorded a lawful opportunity to debate and approve the changes as required by the KUPPET Constitution.
Legal arguments before the court emphasize that members cannot approve matters that were never formally tabled before them, and that any claim of approval without proper notice and minutes may amount to misrepresentation.
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Beyond the internal dispute, the case has drawn wider attention to issues of accountability, transparency and governance within trade unions.
Observers argue that if the alleged conduct is proven, it could erode members’ trust in union leadership and weaken democratic trade unionism protected under the Constitution of Kenya.
As the court prepares to render its decision, the matter is seen as a critical test of judicial oversight in union governance.
The outcome is expected to clarify the standards required for constitutional amendments within unions and determine whether any officials will be held personally accountable for allegedly misleading the court or subverting established constitutional processes.
By Philip Koech
