Tharaka Nithi Senator Prof Kithure Kindiki has been ordered to pay a former employee of his law firm Sh2.2 Million after the court found the firm guilty of wrongfully terminating her while she was pregnant.
This is after Yasmin Josephine Mokaya; a former employee of the firm moved to court and sued the firm over claims of wrongful and discriminatory termination from employment at a time when she was pregnant.
In her suit, she claimed that her maternity leave had been approved by her line manager, but the same was declined by the Chair of the firm Prof Kindiki.
According to Yasmin, the Prof directed her take an unpaid maternity leave, but when she declined and insisted on getting her full pay, she was served with a notice of dismissal.
While delivering his ruling, Justice Mathews Nduma noted that Senator Kindiki violated the rights of Yasmin Josephine Mokaya by firing her when she declined to take an unpaid maternity leave.
“The court finds and declares that Prof Kindiki violated Section 5(3) (a) of the Employment Act (2007) read with Article 27(4) of the Constitution for terminating the employment of Ms Mokaya on account of her pregnancy. The conduct by Prof Kindiki was discriminatory, unfair, and unlawful,” the ruling read in part as quoted by Nation.
In its defense, the firm argued that the termination was a s a result of financial woes, but the court dismissed their arguments, noting that the firm failed to provide sufficient evidence to back their claims.
“There is no single evidence presented by the firm regarding financial constraints at the time of her termination in the year 2018,” Justice Nduma ruled.
