A Kenyan media company failed to properly consult or provide sufficient notice to an employee before firing him after the resignation of a popular YouTuber, a Nairobi court ruled, awarding the man compensation for the unlawful dismissal.
Judge Linnet Ndolo ordered Tuko Media Limited to pay KES 853,704 to ex-camera operator Edwin Ochieng, who sued after being terminated in November 2021 from his job of over five years.
In her ruling, Ndolo said Tuko Media violated redundancy procedures laid out in Kenya’s employment law which require employers to consult impacted workers, give one month’s advance notice, and use objective criteria — not costs — to select employees for redundancy.
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“The requirement for redundancy notice with attendant consultation was not complied with,” Ndolo wrote.
The company claimed financial difficulties required eliminating Ochieng’s position after popular Kenyan YouTuber Lynn Ngugi resigned from hosting on its YouTube channel. Her departure caused viewership and revenue to drop, according to court testimony.
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Ndolo ruled the company also failed to objectively select Ochieng for redundancy as required by law. Former Tuko Media’s managing director, Gibendi Hanningtone Ramenya, testified Ochieng was targeted due to alleged performance issues and the need to cut costs in his department.
“There was no evidence of the Respondent raising any prior concern with the Claimant’s performance and second, the cost of keeping an employee by itself cannot be a valid consideration for selection of that employee for redundancy,” the judge wrote.
She concluded Tuko Media’s firing of Ochieng was “unlawful and unfair” and awarded him eight months’ salary as compensation for the improper dismissal.
Ndolo also dismissed Tuko Media’s counterclaim seeking to recoup allegedly overpaid salary from Ochieng, saying the company provided no evidence to support its claim.
