The Supreme Court of Kenya has ruled that the Employment and Labor Relations Court (ELRC) has jurisdiction to determine the constitutional validity of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act 2013, a pension law at the center of a protracted legal dispute.
In a keenly watched judgment delivered on Wednesday, the country’s top court overturned a finding by the Court of Appeal that the ELRC lacked jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of the pension statute.
“We have already held that, contrary to the Court of Appeal’s finding, the ELRC had jurisdiction to determine the constitutional validity of the NSSF Act 2013,” stated the Supreme Court in its judgment.
The dispute over the 2013 pension law pitted trade unions, workers associations, employers’ organizations and certain employees against the government authorities tasked with implementing the NSSF Act.
“From the proceedings, it is clear that the dispute roped in organizations and authorities as diverse as the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), and the Competition Authority,” the Supreme Court observed.
However, the Court faulted the Court of Appeal for usurping the ELRC’s jurisdiction by partially determining the substantive merits of its judgment after finding it had no jurisdiction.
“Where the Court of Appeal determines that a trial court has acted without jurisdiction in determining a matter, it cannot assume original jurisdiction over the same,” the Supreme Court stated.
The Court remitted the case back to the Court of Appeal to conclusively determine the substantive issues raised before the ELRC.
Oscar Eredi, representing the government respondents, noted the long legal battle ahead: “We respect the Court’s directive but will vigorously make our case when this matter returns to the Court of Appeal on the merits.”
With each party ordered to bear their own costs in the lengthy litigation so far, all eyes now turn to the Court of Appeal for the next chapter in this saga over the future of Kenya’s national pension scheme.
