A court has frozen payment of a Sh97.9 million award won by a former Little Cab manager whose secret recordings helped prove he was fired to deny him a promised stake in the ride-hailing company, pending an appeal by Craft Silicon and its subsidiary.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the companies had met the legal threshold for a stay of execution, temporarily preventing Ronald Mahondo from enforcing the October 2025 judgment while the appeal is pursued.
The court held that immediate execution could render the intended appeal nugatory if it ultimately succeeds.
It ordered Craft Silicon and Little Limited to deposit Sh1 million in a joint interest-earning account operated by the parties' advocates as security for the stay. If the condition is met, execution of the award will remain suspended until the appeal is determined.
The companies told the court that paying the award immediately would substantially affect their finances and operations.
They argued that releasing nearly Sh98 million would deplete working capital, disrupt payroll, interfere with supplier payments, and affect lease obligations and statutory dues.
In addition, the payout would expose Little Cab's business to operational disruption and possible job losses.
"Execution would also cause disproportionate prejudice to third parties and the public," they said.
They also said they had already lodged a notice of appeal and that the intended appeal had reasonable prospects of success.
Mr Mahondo opposed the application, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction because the application had been filed in the original case instead of the appeal file.
He relied on the Employment and Labour Relations Court Procedure Rules, contending that stay applications pending appeal should be lodged in the appeal proceedings rather than before the trial court.
However, the court rejected that objection, finding that the rules relied upon by Mr Mahondo apply to appeals from subordinate courts and not to judgments issued by the Employment and Labour Relations Court itself.
The judge held that the court retains jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Rules to suspend execution of its own judgments pending appeal.
The court also found that the companies had moved without unreasonable delay after judgment and had satisfied the legal requirements for a stay.
On the question of substantial loss, the court said the decree involved a substantial monetary award and noted that Mr Mahondo had not demonstrated his capacity to refund the money should the appeal eventually succeed.
It concluded that a stay was necessary to preserve the appeal while protecting Mr Mahondo's interests through the ordered security deposit.
In October last year, the Labour Relations Court awarded Mr Mahondo Sh97.9 million after finding that Craft Silicon had unlawfully dismissed him to avoid honouring a promise to transfer a one percent equity stake in Little Limited, the company behind the Little Cab ride-hailing platform.
At the centre of the trial were secretly recorded conversations, which became key evidence. The recordings captured discussions in which Mr Mahondo said Craft Silicon chief executive Kamal Budhabhatti acknowledged the promised shareholding before later disputing the claim in court.
The trial judge found the electronic evidence authentic and relied on it in concluding that Mr Mahondo had proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the promised equity existed and that his dismissal was linked to efforts to prevent him from obtaining it.
The earlier judgment valued the disputed one percent shareholding at $750,000 (Sh96.7 million) based on Little's valuation and also awarded Mahondo compensation for unfair termination.
Craft Silicon has challenged that decision before the Court of Appeal, where the dispute over the award will now proceed while execution remains suspended.
