Court stops award to contractor
What you need to know:
- Judge says the arbitrator applied double standards.
- The judge said the finding by the arbitrator was against public policy in Kenya.
A contractor has suffered losses after a court overruled a Sh30 million award it was granted for renovating the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Institute offices in 2007.
Justice Fred Ochieng said the arbitrator who entered the award in favour of Njama Ltd “acted beyond his jurisdiction”.
He also said the arbitrator applied double standards.
Through Mr Ben Millimo, the institute challenged the award published on August 31, 2012 and delivered on August 19, 2014 by the arbitrator, Harun Nyakundi, saying the decision to compel it to pay Njama Ltd Sh30,919,100 was flawed.
PUBLIC POLICY
Mr Millimo urged the judge to hold that the award contradicted the pleading filed by all parties.
The lawyer said the arbitrator ignored the institute’s evidence, wholly relying on material submitted by Njama.
The institute maintained that it owned Njama Sh2,725,731.93, yet the company was demanding in excess of Sh20 million for “shoddy and unprofessional job”.
Njama opposed the plea to set aside the award, saying decisions of the arbitrator “shall be final and binding.” The firm said the award did not offend public policy.
The judge said the finding by the arbitrator was against public policy in Kenya.
“The arbitrator had expressed the legal position as he understood it but thereafter applied it differently,” the judge said.
