A former accountant of Egerton University who had sued the institution over wrongful dismissal was fired for alleged embezzlement of funds, a Nakuru court has heard.

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The institution’s human resource officer, Joseph Muchiri, who testified in the Nakuru Industrial court, said that the employee was summarily dismissed after he led to the loss of Sh249,689 belonging to Egerton University.

“The claimant misappropriated the money which came into his possession as a servant of the university,” said Muchiri.

Muchiri further said that the employee was subjected to a criminal case of theft but was acquitted by a court which found him not guilty of the offence.

He said that the decision to dismiss the employee was arrived at by a well-constituted disciplinary committee of the institution.

The complainant, Thomas Miningwo, testified that his employer dismissed him without following due process as spelt out in the labour laws.

He told Justice Stephen Radido that he was sacked on May 10, 2012 after he was accused of what the university management called gross misconduct that had led to loss of funds.

“I was found innocent by the court. I don’t know why the university terminated my services,” said Miningwo.

The employee is demanding damages over wrongful dismissal, unpaid leave allowances for 300 days and salary he has not received since the termination of his services.

Miningwo told the court that the institution erred in law when it failed to give him reasons for termination of his employment and that he was denied fair hearing before being laid off.

Mininwo, who now wants the court to compel the higher learning institution to pay for the damages caused, also stated that the ‘rude’ dismissal he received from the institution had adversely subjected his family to an untold suffering.

However, the university through its lawyer maintained that the employee was sacked after being subjected to hearing and sought to dismiss claims by the complainant that he was unfairly dismissed.

The court will deliver judgement on the matter on February 27, 2015.