Former Moi University workers who were retrenched 26 years ago have given the institution a one-month ultimatum to pay dues awarded to them by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Eldoret in October 2025.
The retrenched workers on Tuesday warned that they would be forced to return to court to have the university compelled to pay their termination dues with interest.
At least 210 workers were relieved of their duties by Moi University during a March 2001 government retrenchment announced by the then Finance Minister Chris Okemo.
Justice Maureen Onyango, in the October 9, 2025, judgement, ordered that each of the 62 claimants who had been seeking compensation in a protracted suit lodged in 2002 deserved four months’ basic pay and house allowance.
“The court finds that an award equivalent to four months' consolidated salary (basic salary plus house allowance) for each claimant would constitute fair and reasonable compensation for procedural unfairness,” Justice Onyango ruled.
However, the former employees rejected an offer by Moi University earlier this year, claiming it was in violation of the Labour Court ruling.
Joseph Tarus, who was retrenched, accused the struggling university of refusing to honour the court order.
“The court ordered each of us to be paid four months’ basic salary and house allowance based on current rates, but to our shock, the university offered to pay us based on the 2001 basic salary, without the house allowance, which is against the court decision on the matter,” said Tarus.
A computation of the ex-workers’ benefits seen by The Standard shows that the university proposed to pay the former workers between Sh4,000 and Sh7,000 per month, which was their basic salaries as of 2001.
In total, according to Moi University’s interpretation of the judgment, each of the claimants is expected to receive between Sh17,000 and Sh30,000 as terminal dues, amounts that the workers described as “a joke.”
“Whatever Moi University is offering after 25 years of cat-and-mouse game is just a joke. We were in court for 24 years and our case was before three different judges. We expected the judgment to bring this matter to rest, but it seems the university is not ready to obey the court orders,” Tarus, who is expected to be awarded Sh21,040, lamented.
He added: “Many workers who were retrenched in 2001 have since died because of depression. Sadly, they are being shortchanged.”
Sarah Letting said the workers did not deserve further frustrations after 24 years of battling for their dues in court.
Letting said the workers were yet to be paid millions of shillings in savings held by the Moi University Sacco (Musco).
Mary Nachach, who was employed in 1987, revealed that she had saved thousands of shillings at the Sacco before the retrenchment initiated under the Civil Service Reform Programme of 2001.
“Sacco deductions on my payslip started in 1987, just two months after I was employed. The savings were my retirement scheme, and I am yet to benefit from them 25 years after retrenchment,” she claimed.
The court had, however, dealt a blow to the former workers’ claim for a Sh240,000 golden handshake each after the claimants failed to adduce sufficient evidence to show that they were entitled to such compensation.
Moi University had told the court that it was not obligated to pay the retrenched employees a Sh240,000 golden handshake each since it was not provided for in their employment terms.
But the court found that the university had not complied with the retrenchment procedures.
“Although the respondent (Moi University) asserted that the retrenchment was conducted in accordance with the government’s civil service reform programme, the evidence on record does not demonstrate compliance with the procedural requirements of Section 16A of the repealed Employment Act (Cap 226),” the court found.
