A Nakuru court has reinstated Wilson Mungai as the County's Finance boss, four years after his employment contract was terminated.
Justice Hellen Wasilwa of the Employment and Labour Relations Court issued the ruling on Tuesday, March 22, noting that the termination contravened Mungai's constitutional rights.
She ordered Nakuru county boss Lee Kinyanjui's administration to pay the staff's full salary from the day his contract was terminated to date- amounting to Ksh7.8 million in arrears. Further, the county government was ordered to pay Ksh2 million as damages.
The average salary of a county director according to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) is Ksh 157,160 per month. The directors fall under the category of Job Group R.
“The move by the county to transfer the applicant from one department to another and stop his salary is declared illegal, unfair, null, and void.”
“The applicant is the lawful holder of the office of the director of financial management,” ruled Justice Wasilwa.
Mungai had been sent on compulsory leave for four months in August 2017 before being transferred to another department in court, he argued that his salary was stopped in 2018.
"The County stopped my salary while I was on leave and sent me a letter transferring me to the Department of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) on September 22, 2018,” he argued in court.
He decried the transfer directive, pointing out that the ICT department did not have an office of a finance manager.
Mungai was part of county wards and administrators who had been sent on compulsory leave on August 28, 2017.
He later filed a petition against the county Public Service Board and the county government over what he termed as unlawful termination.
