A Master's degree holder in actuarial science has taken the
University of Nairobi (UoN) to court for employing him as a messenger
since 2005.
Mr Stephen Otieno Ogutu is urging the High Court to compel the university to offer him a job matching his qualifications.
And
besides being stuck on the 'wrong job', lawyer Titus Koceyo, told the
Employment and Labour Relations Court that Mr Ogutu has not been paid
for the last nine months.
The unpaid salary, he says,
amounts to Sh310,806. He is also seeking compensation for wrongful and
unlawful withholding of his pay.
Mr Koceyo urged the
court to order UoN to pay the claimant Sh1,500,000 for the wrongful
withholding of his salary and subjecting him to servitude by working
without pay.
He told the court that UoN had not given an explanation why it had not paid Mr Ogutu despite several correspondences.
The
lawyer told Justice Maureen Onyango that Mr Ogutu “is suffering
immensely and finding a lot of difficulties in making ends meet.”
“Mr Ogutu fears that he might be relieved of his duties,” he said.
Mr Ogutu is urging the court to issue a temporary injunction restraining the respondent (UoN) from terminating his employment.
“I
urge this court to restrain UoN not to subject the plaintiff (Mr Ogutu)
to inhuman, hostile and humiliating work environment pending the
determination of the case,” Mr Koceyo urged.
Certifying the case as urgent, Justice Onyango ordered Mr Koceyo to serve the university with the suit documents.
The
plaintiff is asking the court to declare that he has been discriminated
against claiming that all the other employees are being paid.
“This is not a question of cash flow issue but an act of discrimination in a workplace,” Mr Koceyo said in the case documents.
“Despite
sterling performance of his duties and his academic qualifications, the
respondent still recognises him officially as a messenger and has
continued to grade his salary and job title as such which amounts to
unfair labour practice,” Mr Koceyo said in the court documents.
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