Beatrice Mathenge, the Registrar of Trade Unions, received a one-month jail sentence for disobeying court orders in a lawsuit brought by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
In a ruling on Friday, Principal Judge Byram Ongaya of the Employment and Labour Relations Court also ordered an alternative fine of Ksh. 100,000, failing which Ms. Mathenge will serve her prison sentence.
According to Justice Ongaya, the Registrar violated the law by not performing her official duties as required by law, even though she was aware of prior court orders instructing her to register KMPDU officers after their election. For this reason, she was found guilty of contempt.
The court ruling stated that “On 04.08.2023 the ruling on the contempt application was subsequently delivered in circumstances that, as the contemnor confirmed in her testimony, she had all along been aware of the judgment and the application for contempt but had failed to comply with the order in the Judgment as directed at her and failed to attend Court on the contempt application,” even though the defendant was the Acting Registrar of Trade Unions and substantively a Chief State Counsel (duly re-designated by Public Service Commission effective 05.05.2022).
The judge found her to be in contempt of court. After considering all pertinent circumstances, the Court orders the offender to pay an instant fine of Ksh. 100,000 and, in the event of nonpayment, to 30 days in jail.
KMPDU officials stated in court on June 11, 2022, that they were duly elected to their positions and that they notified Ms. Mathenge of this on June 13, 2022, to register, according to an affidavit sworn by Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah.
However, as the Registrar declined to do so, the union moved to court in Nairobi, where they were granted a positive ruling on February 10, 2023.
According to earlier court documents viewed by Citizen Digital, “in the said judgment, this Honourable Court directed the Registrar of Trade Unions to register the officials of the appellant elected on June 11, 2022, and communicated to the Registrar vide form Q dated June 13, 2022.”
“After the aforementioned ruling, the appellant sent letters dated February 14, 2023, to the Registrar, requesting that its officials be registered following the Court’s ruling.”
“Furthermore, on March 1st, 2023, the appellant, through their advocates, wrote to the Registrar asking for compliance with the judgment of Court,” the court documents stated. In the aforementioned March 1st letter, the appellant sent a certified copy of the judgment, decree, and form Q dated June 13th, 2023 to the Registrar.
The medical practitioners’ union continued by claiming that Ms. Mathenge refused to abide by the court order to register its officials after their election, even when they wrote to her multiple times.
Additionally, the Registrar failed to respond to any of the court’s rulings, which led KMPDU to file a contempt application on March 6, 2023, for disobedience of the judgment.
“An order committing the Registrar of Trade Unions to civil jail for six months for acting in contempt of the judgment delivered in this matter on February 10, 2023,” was what the physicians’ union was requesting.
On August 9, 2023, Justice Ongaya gave the Registrar a deadline of September 25, 2023, to appear in court and demonstrate compliance with the previous orders; otherwise, the Registrar would face a contempt penalty. Judge Ongaya issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Mathenge on October 25 after finding her guilty of contempt of court orders.
To bring up the matter, the Judge ordered Capitol Hill Police Station OCS to detain the Registrar and bring her before the court the next morning.
