Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has dealt a blow to 61 employees who worked in former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s office after finding that they were legally sacked.

Justice Hellen Wasilwa in her judgment said that contracts issued to the staff were ‘out of local arrangement’ which meant their employment was pegged on his stay in office.

The judge dismissed lawyer Lempaa Suyianka’s argument that the decision to kick out all the employees who were assigned to Gachagua was political and a violation of the right to serve an office as provided in a contract.

“It is clear that the said 61 officers were employed on local agreement terms with a provision that the contract was pegged to the tenure of office of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has since been impeached as per the evidence adduced,” said Wasilwa.

According to her, the employees tied themselves by signing an agreement that their employment would only last during the DP’s tenure.

She asserted that after the impeachment, the contract between them and the employer immediately lapsed.

Immediately after Rigathi’s successor, Prof. Kindiki, took office, a shakeup of employees who had been hired to serve Gachagua started.

The judge, however, held that those who were employed under permanent and pensionable terms ought to continue serving or redeployed.

It followed that 300 staff members received text messages instructing them to collect termination letters.

In the case, Suyianka, along with the Africa Centre for Peace and Human Rights, sued the Public Service Commission (PSC), arguing that the sacking amounted to politicising the civil service.

According to him, the PSC is independent from control and ought to have redeployed all the affected employees.

He asserted that the compulsory suspension of all the affected persons and subsequent dismissal was against the right to human dignity, and discrimination.

The court heard that the employees were made to suffer in a bullfight between Gachagua and his former boss President William Ruto.

He further argued that no misconduct or redundancy processes were carried out as required by labour law.

“ The court should take judicial notice that the office holders of the prime cabinet secretary and deputy president can change at any time. Therefore, tying the fate of any public officer to the life or fate of another human being and not the office is in violation of their right to fair labour practices,” argued Lempaa.

He stated that the law envisioned that those who were employed under a fixed term contract would serve a full five years in office without interruption.

“ The civil service owes its loyalty to the government of the day,” argued Lempaa adding that the sacking mirrored politics in government jobs employment.

In response, PSC and the AG  jointly argued that those employed on fixed contracts were and are meant to serve a person during his tenure.

According to them, this was distinguishable from those who are employed on permanent terms and ought to serve an office and not an individual. They asserted that whenever there is a change in government, those on contract are dropped while those who are on permanent terms are either redeployed or retained in the same offices.

PSC’s CEO Paul Famba in his affidavit said that the affected employees’ employment ended when Gachagua’s impeachment was affirmed by the Senate. He said that only 26 employees from the list were on permanent and pensionable terms.

“ The office of the Deputy President, H.E. Hon. Rigathi Gachagua, had both categories of staff; however, the majority were appointed to serve on contract during his tenure of office. 26 of the employees who are listed in the replying affidavit cannot be removed from office when there is a change of government or office holder as they are permanent and pensionable officers serving the government of the day,” he said.