Court orders Kenya Army commander to pay recruit Sh3m

Specialist cadets march during a commissioning parade at the Kenya Military Academy in Nakuru on March 27, 2015. A Nairobi court has ordered a Kenya Army commander to pay Sh3 million to a recruit who was kicked out on pass-out parade day. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A Nairobi court has ordered Kenya Army commander Lieutenant-General Leonard Ngondi to pay Sh3 million to a recruit who was kicked out on the day of the pass-out parade.

The recruit, Nasibo Dabaso Jillo from Moyale, was sent away from the Eldoret Recruit Training School in September 2007.

Employment and the Labour Relations Court Justice Mathew Nduma Nderi said the young woman’s future was wasted after going through the four-month training period only to be kicked out on graduation day on allegations that she was asthmatic.

The woman had sought to be paid Sh69 million for the violation of her rights, fundamental freedoms and terminal dues until her retirement age at 60.

Awarding Ms Jillo general damages for pain and suffering, the judge said the action “condemned her to a life of deprivation and poverty”.

Nabaso's lawyer, Benson Millimo, had told the judge that "the bright future of (Ms Jillo) from Kenya’s most arid region" was dashed by the commander of the Kenya Army (whom) she had named as a respondent, alongside the Attorney-General.

He urged the court to allow the award "to compensate the girl from the arid region whose career was nipped at the bud for no justifiable reason".

15-PAGE JUDGMENT
In his 15-page judgment, Justice Nderi said, “The court take(s) judicial notice that the petitioner was a young woman from the arid region of Moyale which is lagging far behind in development. The girl-child from this area has little chance of getting gainful employment”.

He added: “ The recruitment of the petitioner (Ms Jillo) was a life-saving measure for her family and the community she came from.”

Justice Nderi said this was a fact that the army commander ought to have taken into consideration.

He allowed the petitioner's plea, saying “the manner in which the discharge was done on the day of pass-out parade, while her family had arrived for the event was both degrading and inhumane and grossly violated the rights of (Ms Jillo)”.

She had completed the four-month basic training when she was kicked out without prior notice, he noted.

LEAVE IMMEDIATELY

On pass-out day, September 20, 2007, Ms Jillo was approached by the duty officer, who informed her that she should leave the camp immediately. She was bundled into a truck and dropped off in Eldoret Town.

She was later informed by the Department of Defence on January 16, 2008 that she was discharged under Section 176 (g) of the Armed Forces Act on the grounds that she was asthmatic.

The judge said no medical report was advanced to verify that allegation, saying the “punishment meted on her was harsh and done without a hearing”.

The judge noted that the Armed Forces have very good medical facilities at the disposal of the petitioner and “there was no iota of evidence that the illness she suffered was terminal and or was debilitating to the extent that the petitioner was unable to serve as a service woman in the Armed Forces."

The judge said Ms Jillo lost the prospects of a career in the military without a valid reason or justification.

He allowed the petitioner's plea and ordered the AG, who was being represented by State Counsel Mwimbo Momanyi, to ensure Ms Jillo's national identity card is delivered to her by the Moyale District commissioner within 30 days and to report to the court whether she had received it.

Editor's Note: The Kenya Defence Force has pointed out that the order for the Army to pay a recruit Sh3 million issued by the High Court was to the military and not the person of Army Commander Lt-Gen Leonard Ngondi, contrary to what may have been suggested by our story. While Lt-Gen Ngondi is the current holder of the position, he was not serving in that capacity at the time covered in the court case and is not personally being held liable for the subject matter forming the court case.