Court revokes KETRACO Manager’s interdiction, awards him Ksh.50K in damages

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has declared unlawful and revoked the interdiction of the Kenya Electric Transmission Company (KETRACO) General Manager for Design and Construction, Eng. Antony Tawayi Wamukota, after finding that the disciplinary process leading to his removal violated the rules of fair hearing and the company’s own human resource procedures.

In a judgment delivered on June 17, 2026, Justice Jacob Gakeri held that KETRACO interdicted Wamukota on December 15, 2025 while he was already serving a compulsory leave that had earlier been challenged in court and later revoked.

The judge noted that both the show-cause letter and interdiction letter were dated the same day, effectively denying the employee an opportunity to respond before the decision to interdict him was made.

The court found that the employer’s actions breached the principles of fair hearing and its own human resource policy.

Justice Gakeri relied on an earlier ruling by Justice Hellen Wasilwa, who had suspended both the interdiction and the show-cause letter and ordered Wamukota’s immediate return to work pending determination of the petition. 

KETRACO had defended the interdiction, arguing that Wamukota was under investigation over alleged governance, contractual and financial irregularities linked to the Kenya-Tanzania 400kV Power Interconnection Project.

The company claimed the allegations exposed it to substantial financial losses, operational delays and reputational risks, making the interdiction necessary to safeguard ongoing investigations.

The court, however, held that the question of whether the interdiction process was lawful had already been substantially addressed when the earlier ruling found that KETRACO failed to follow due process.

Justice Gakeri further ruled that the doctrine of exhaustion could not bar the petition because the case involved allegations of violation of constitutional rights. 

While Wamukota sought compensation for alleged violations of his constitutional rights, the court found that the harm suffered was relatively limited because he remained in employment.

The judge awarded him Ksh.50,000 as damages and ordered KETRACO to pay half the costs of the suit.