High Court Judge Peter Mulwa has dismissed a petition filed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in a court case against a multinational company.
According to the court documents, KEBS had filed the petition to stop the court from hearing and determining the case.
KEBS argued that the court did not have any jurisdiction on the said matter.
"Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Bureau or the council may within 14 days of the notification of the act complained of being received by him appeal in writing to the Tribunal," reads part of the Act.
KEBS therefore asked the court to dismiss the case since the company failed to exhaust the mechanisms provided to solve such matters.
In the court case, the company was seeking compensation of Ksh26.6 million which is worth the 5,094 bales of baby diapers which KEBS seized and destroyed in December 2022.
The company also sought compensation for damages, loss of profit and cost of the suit. Additionally, the company argued that KEBS carried out the destruction without following due process.
One of the factors that the company was banking on is whether the High Court had the jurisdiction to hear the matter. The foreign company argued in favour of this.
Upon hearing the two parties, Justice Mulwa on Thursday stated that the High Court derives its jurisdiction from Article 165 (3) and (6) of the Constitution and had unlimited original jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters.
According to the judge, the nature of the company's claim was that of payment of special and general damages for loss of business after KEBS destroyed the goods without proper procedure.
"The actions of the defendant (KEBS) in acting contrary to the laid down procedure leaves no doubt that indeed there is a need for this court to assume the jurisdiction," the judge ruled.
Therefore, Judge Mulwa added that the court ought to exercise its discretion and evaluate the facts and evidence on record before rendering a just determination of the issues.
KEBS is mandated to ensure products entering the country and being sold to Kenyans are of high quality. In the past, the agency has destroyed substandard products.
