Blow to dock workers as court rejects plea to stop trial, Mungatana disqualified from case

Mombasa, Kenya: Disgraced employees of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) under investigation for uttering false certificates to gain employment have lost a court battle in which they had sought orders to stop disciplinary action by their employer and investigation by the anti-corruption agency.

They watched in disbelief as the judge dismissed their case and declared that police and anti-corruption agents can now arrest and charge them.

The Industrialisation Court dismissed an application lodged on their behalf by the Dock Workers Union (DWU) which wanted the 136 employees pardoned or demoted instead of being sacked and jailed.

Mungatana disqualified

The workers suffered a second blow when their lawyer Danson Mungatana, a former Garsen MP and immediate former chairman of the KPA board of directors was disqualified from representing them.

His disqualification followed an application by KPA's lawyer Michael Sangoro who argued that Mungatana chaired some board meetings that ratified the findings of an audit that led to the discovery of the forgeries.

 Besides the suit, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission EACC has launched a criminal probe on these workers and the managers who employed and promoted them, for illegal enrichment.

Justice James Rika rejected the DWU's application saying the courts cannot condone the crime of forgery by workers as doing so will set a bad example to other workers and children in Kenya.

Justice Rika upheld Sangoro's application by saying that there will be conflict of interest if the former MP was allowed to defend the disgraced employees because "he chaired a meeting that decided that these workers should be investigated over fake certificates."

The judge concurred with Sangoro that Mungatana ought to be a witness in this matter instead of acting for suspects under probe.