The Employment and Labour Relations Court has summoned the Director-General of National Employment Authority, Edith Okoki, for mitigation and sentencing for disobeying an order to renew the registration certificate of an employment broker, Al Hujura Agency Limited.
Al Hujura director, Susan Wanjohi, sought 'enforcement and protection of the dignity of the court and the rule of law' after Ms Okoki failed to register the broker despite a court order to do so.
The company's certificate had previously been renewed in 2014.
Ms Okoki in her response to the contempt application conceded that the court gave a judgment in favour of the company compelling her office to issue a renewal certificate.
Appeal notice
She, however, stated that the government agency was not satisfied with the judgment of the court, and has lodged a Notice of Appeal, and applied for proceedings of the court, to enable it to prepare a Record of Appeal.
"The respondent is ready and willing to comply with the judgment and orders of the court at the earliest, but is unable to do the same since her hands are tied by the law that requires the intended Appeal be filed, heard, and determined," she stated.
Justice James Rika, nonetheless, found Ms Okoki to be in contempt of a court order dated May 29, 2020 and demanded that she appear in person for sentencing at a date to be scheduled by the Deputy Registrar of the court.
He said it was regrettable that Al Hujura Agency Ltd had been denied a renewal certificate, despite having persuaded the court that it had up to 300 job openings in Saudi Arabia, travel visas were being processed and the applicants had been trained by accredited trainers.
Extremely shocking
"It is an extremely shocking and bold admission of contempt, coming from a government agency, which deposes to be acting on the advice of the Attorney-General of Kenya. In democracies which are alive, the Attorney-General ought to be the custodian of constitutionalism and the rule of law," said Justice Rika.
He added: "The Attorney-General, a prominent and respected lawyer, who has served the Judiciary as an Appellate Judge, ought to be more assertive in advising the Government to obey decisions of the court, to avert the drift into chaos and death of the rule of law which the Government appears to have taken."
The company told the court that it had incurred costs in processing the visas and processing of applicants' passports, and had paid a sum of Sh1,068,000 in medical examination fees.
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