A Nakuru court has ordered the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) to pay Sh44 million to a former employee who sued the institution demanding damages for wrongful dismissal.
Industrial court Judge Byrum Ongaya on Friday ordered Nema to pay former Rift Valley director Edward Juma the amount within 30 days besides reinstating him, saying the officer’s employment was unlawfully terminated.
“The court orders Nema to pay Sh44 million as general damages to the officer before October 1 and reinstate him,” said Ongaya during the ruling.
The court further ordered the institution to pay for the cost of the suit which Mr Juma filed in court three years ago challenging termination of his employment.
According to the ruling, he will also receive salary and allowances he missed during the dismissal which are due to be computed.
In his suit, Juma told the court he was discriminated against and that he was unlawfully dismissed following allegations of issuance of licences irregularly. The court ruled that the institution erred in sending Juma, employed in 2003, to early retirement for irregularities committed by his deputy who allegedly allowed the development of a high-risk project in the Maasai Mara game reserve.
“The court finds that the officer did not commit the irregularities and therefore his summary dismissal was not valid and violated his rights,” the judge said, adding that his deputy was to blame for the illegal affairs and that he should not suffer as a result of his deputy’s negligence.
Juma moved to court on January 2011 demanding damages of Sh44 million and to have Nema compelled to reinstate him with immediate effect. The officer in his suit also averred that the ‘rude’ dismissal he received from the environmental watchdog had adversely affected his livelihood and subjected his family to psychological suffering.