A court has quashed the suspension of a senior manager at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) after it established that he was twice subjected to disciplinary proceedings over the same matter.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court found that a decision to send Anthony Tawayi Wamukota, a General Manager at Ketraco, on a three-month compulsory leave in September amounted to double jeopardy.
The court found that the Ketraco board had, a year earlier, conducted disciplinary proceedings against him over a tender for the transportation of two transformers from Mombasa to West Pokot, cleared him of any wrongdoing, and only issued a caution.
The transformers were being transported in August 2023 when the vehicle carrying them was involved in an accident near Nakuru, destroying the equipment and rendering it unusable.
“The Court therefore holds that an employer cannot generally reopen a disciplinary case that has been determined on its merits because the initial decision (like in the instant case) is considered final,” said the court.
The court heard that M/S Elsogom Company Limited had been contracted to transport the transformers from Mombasa to Ortum Substation in West Pokot County, a distance of about 450 kilometres.
The accident occurred at Kamara, about 70 kilometres from Nakuru, causing the transformers to fall off a low-bed carrier truck. As a result, the equipment was rendered unfit for purpose.
In December 2023, Mr Wamukota received a show-cause letter requiring him to explain why he should not be summarily dismissed for gross negligence resulting in the loss of company assets.
Following a disciplinary hearing, he was cleared in June 2024 of any wrongdoing or mishandling of the ill-fated transformers.
Mr Wamukota told the court that, in a surprising turn of events, the board — while conducting a disciplinary hearing against the then Managing Director John Mativo — decided at a Special General Meeting held on September 18, 2025, to suspend him for three months.
He challenged the decision, arguing that it was made without justifiable cause and arose from a disciplinary process that did not involve him. He submitted that the action amounted to double jeopardy and was prejudicial to him.
Ketraco defended the suspension, stating that new information had emerged during the second hearing that specifically implicated Mr Wamukota in the transportation of the two transformers.
The electricity transmission firm said concerns were raised involving more serious allegations against him, prompting the initiation of a forensic investigation to establish the facts surrounding the matter.
The company said it placed Mr Wamukota on compulsory leave to allow investigations to proceed unhindered, safeguard the integrity of evidence, and maintain a safe, orderly, and professional work environment.
Ketraco further argued that the decision was necessary to preserve the sanctity of the investigations into the procurement and transportation process, given that Mr Wamukota held a senior management position as General Manager, Design and Construction.
However, the court held that Mr Wamukota had already undergone a full disciplinary process over the same tender and had been absolved.
“What is material and pertinent is that the petitioner underwent the full regime and motions of the applicable administrative process, and upon merits, the case was determined as closed. Thus, the Court finds that the compulsory leave imposed for three months, effective 19.09.2025, as against the petitioner was unfair, unlawful, and unconstitutional,” said the court.
The company was also ordered to pay Mr Wamukota the costs of the case.
