The Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to pay over KES 14 million shillings in unpaid salaries and benefits to 14 former employees on Tuesday, capping years of litigation between the federations’ president and his former staff.
Presiding Judge Byram Ongaya ruled that FKF President Nick Mwendwa must pay out the salary arrears to former Secretary General Michael Esakwa and 13 other claimants by December 1.
If Mwenda fails to pay by the deadline, he will face 12% interest charges on the debts, compounded monthly until full payment is made according to the judgment.
“The respondent has shown that the claimants were employees of the FKF and as per annexed payroll,” Ongaya wrote in his judgment. “The parties were in a contract of service.”
The former FKF employees first filed suit in July 2016, alleging that Mwendwa failed to pay their salaries and benefits from 2015-2016 despite acknowledging that over KES 5 million in wage debts were owed in a letter sent just three months after he took office.
“To answer the second issue, the Court returns that the claim is for salary arrears,” Ongaya wrote after reviewing submitted evidence. “By the letter dated February 13, 2016 signed by the respondent it was acknowledged that the salaries as claimed were owed to the claimants.”
Mwendwa asserted in legal filings that the employment contracts submitted by the claimants were forgeries. However, Ongaya found that the appointment letters, bank statements, payroll records and Mwendwa’s own correspondence clearly established the employment relationships and outstanding salary debts.
Michael Esakwa, the former FKF Secretary General, was awarded the largest sum of KES 3.3 million shillings in back pay. The other claimants – including former compliance officers, finance directors and communications consultants – were granted salary arrears sums between KES 160,000 and KES 2.5 million based on evidence presented of their time served under Mwendwa’s management.
In addition to the salary awards, Mwenda was ordered to pay all court costs associated with the three-year legal proceedings.
