Maasai Mara University has been faulted by the Employment and Labour Relations Court for failing to lift the suspension of a former driver, despite being cleared of allegations of corruption.
The court said it was unfair for the employer to keep Hassan Abdi Noor in limbo for more than five years.
Mr Noor was suspended together with former Vice Chancellor Mary Walingo and others over allegations of corruption at the university.
The suspension followed an alleged expose by a local TV station, and the court heard that Mr Noor was initially suspended on August 28, 2020, without pay.
However, the move was later revised for him to get half salary and other benefits, pending the determination of the criminal case.
Their charges were later quashed by the High Court, but the former driver was yet to be reinstated and directed by the High Court, forcing him to challenge the suspension.
“The respondent (Maasai Mara University) is to pay general damages equivalent to 10 months’ salary, which will cover the constitutional violation,” said the court.
The court, however, rejected an application for his reinstatement, saying he has been out of his job since August 2020, and it was far-fetched to return him to his former job.
Mr Noor told the court that he took the job as a driver in June 2009 at the university then known as Narok University College. After completing his probation, he was confirmed as a full employee on May 31, 2010.
He said he worked diligently and to the best of his abilities, without facing any disciplinary actions for misconduct or breach of duty.
Mr Noor said he was promoted to the rank of senior driver, earning a basic salary of Sh123,492 and a house allowance of Sh55,286, together with allowances and benefits.
In September 2019, a local TV station aired an expose implicating senior officials of misappropriation of funds.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations later filed proceedings against him and others before the anti-corruption court in Nakuru.
Mr Noor said he was suspended by the university council on August 28, 2020, without pay pending the hearing and determination of the criminal charges.
He said the last time he received his full salary was in August 2020, and since then, all subsequent payments have been significantly reduced.
In March last year, the High Court in Nakuru quashed the criminal proceedings and prohibited the police from probing them on the alleged scandal.
But since then, Mr Noor said the council has failed and refused to take any action regarding his suspension, leaving him in a state of uncertainty and unfairly depriving him of work and earnings, despite the matter having been resolved.
He sought to be paid his withheld salary amounting to Sh2.5 million and reinstatement.
Mr Noor said he has suffered financial, mental, and psychological strain due to the unfair and unreasonable refusal to reinstate him to employment with full salary.
