Siaya Senator James Orengo was on Wednesday ordered to pay a former employee Kshs.600,000 after losing a court case.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled against the Senate Minority leader in a wrongful termination case filed by Gilbert Jedidah Ogango.
Ogango, who had worked as a court clerk in Orengo’s law firm, J.A.B Orengo Advocates, accused the Senator of failing to pay him for work done at his law firm for a period of 17 months.
The former clerk swore in an affidavit that the Senior Counsel had agreed to pay him KShs20,000 per month which he failed to honour.
Mr Ogango claimed that the Senator pleaded with him for patience citing harsh economic times brought by the political season.
[caption caption="Senator Orengo's former clerk Gilbert Ogango"]
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"But by looking at the change in the law firm, the harsh economic times has since passed on and changed for the better but he still refuses to pay me.
"I am now led to believe that they had been misleading me and as such my hopes and patience have been dashed and some to nought," Ogango's affidavit read in part.
The suit papers traced the events back to September 2014, when the complainant alleged his salary was delayed but he did not read mischief into it.
"It was later that I got worried as the payment took a while despite my dedicated service," the petitioner explained.
He terminated the oral contract in February 2016 when he left the firm and sought terminal dues, which he also claims not to have received.
Mr Ogango also claims to have written a demand letter through Okoth Okwemba S.M & Associates that was ignored.
[caption caption="Siaya Senator James Orengo"]
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He asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court to grant him the amount to cater for Kshs340,000 salary arrears, Kshs.267,000 for housing allowance an in lieu of notice charges, Kshs.240,000 compensation for damages and a severance pay of Kshs.80,500.
