Sacked worker stops Kenol takeover deal

Implementation of the take-over agreement between Kenol Kobil and Swiss company Puma Energy has been suspended.

A court on Thursday stopped Kenol Kobil from implementing the agreement after Mr Joseph Kamau Thuo, who the company sacked, filed a claim.

Industrial Court judge Monica Mbaru granted an interim injunction, which also stops Kenol Kobil and Puma energy from entering into any similar arrangement that could remove control the Kenyan company from its current shareholders and directors, to the detriment of Mr Thuo’s interests.

The injunction was issued pending the hearing of both parties in court on September 13.

Mr Thuo and 14 others were sacked from Kenol Kobil on August 10.

He says the sacking is part of a down-sizing plan that Kenol Kobil has embarked on ahead of its acquisition by Puma Energy.

He adds that the down-sizing is meant to scuttle a pending suit that employees filed to secure their jobs in the take-over.

Kenol Kobil intended to lay off more employees but ceased doing so after they filed the suit and obtained an order stopping further sackings, he states.

The workers had sought assurance from Kenol Kobil that their jobs would be secured, but the company failed to commit itself legally, according to the claimant.

He also claims that some Puma Energy agents who recently visited the country talked of a looming retrenchment.

“The restructuring process will leave me exposed, without assurance of my claims being awarded,” he states in an affidavit.

He is seeking compensation of Sh13.5 million as accumulated monthly salary that he could have earned for three years until his retirement, and Sh4.5 million which is equivalent to 12 months’ gross salary as at the time of his dismissal.

He also wants a severance pay of Sh5.4 million. He asks the court to order for his reinstatement, as an alternative.

Mr Thuo claims that he was dismissed for under-performance barely a month after he was awarded a Sh10,000-pay increase after being appraised as an excellent performer.

His lawyer, Mr Julius Juma on Thursday told the court that the take-over agreement, if executed, would render the claims against Kenol Kobil irrelevant.

The agreement, which the two companies signed on May 7, will change the company’s structure and take away control from its directors, he says.

The new firm to be formed will not be bound by contractual commitments by Kenol Kobil, he adds.