Court has ordered World Vision Kenya to pay Sh790,398 to a former employee who was sacked for getting into a romantic relationship with a businesswoman in Kitui County.
Mr Dominic Mutuku Mulavu, who had worked as a driver at the aid agency for 12 years, was summarily dismissed in May 2024 for allegedly breaching the company’s Safeguarding Policy.
World Vision Kenya alleged that Mr Mulavu had entered into a romantic relationship with Ms Mercy Kailu, a beneficiary, in violation of the organisation’s workplace policy.
However, evidence presented before the Labour and Employment Relations Court showed that Ms Kailu, who hailed from Mutumo, Kitui County, was an independent businesswoman, not a beneficiary, and that their three-year relationship was consensual and intended to lead to marriage. The employer failed to prove otherwise.
While the court observed that the disciplinary process met procedural standards, the court found out that World Vision Kenya had misapplied its own policy to a private and lawful relationship.
Applying the reasonable responses test, the judge held that no reasonable employer would terminate employment in such circumstances.
“From the record, it is clear that the primary objective of the policy is to protect children and vulnerable adults from sexual exploitation and abuse, and to prevent intentional or unintentional harm, particularly in respect of adult beneficiaries. Evidently, the policy does not explicitly prohibit sexual relationships with members of the community. It is this court’s view that the policy’s intent is well-founded, particularly given the Respondent’s (World Vision) work involving engagement with children and vulnerable adults. All things considered, the court is not satisfied that the respondent (World Vision) has established that the reason given for terminating the claimant’s (Mulavu) employment was valid, fair, and reasonable within the meaning of the Employment Act,” Judge Stella Rutto noted.
She awarded Mr Mulavu a one-month’s salary in lieu of notice and eight months’ gross salary as compensation.
“Having found that the reason given for the termination of the claimant’s employment was not fair, valid, or reasonable, the court awards the claimant one month’s salary in lieu of notice amounting to Sh87,822.00, together with compensatory damages of Sh702,576.00, equivalent to eight months’ gross salary. This award reflects the nearly 12-year duration of the employment relationship and the finding that the claimant’s career was prematurely curtailed for reasons that were not valid, fair, and unreasonable,” the ruling stated.
The judge also dismissed Mr Mulavu’s claim that his right to privacy was violated when he was compelled by his employer to disclose personal details regarding his intimate and consensual relationship with Ms Kailu, which he described as embarrassing, intrusive, and degrading.
The judge noted that there was no evidence to suggest that the information provided by Mr Mulavu was disclosed to any unauthorised parties unrelated to the disciplinary proceedings he faced, which would warrant an infringement of his privacy.
After his sacking, Mr Mulavu filed the suit accusing World Vision of meddling in his private life. Mr Mulavu’s relationship with Ms Kailu began in October 2022. Their romance blossomed and was intended to end in marriage, but they broke up in November 2023 shortly before he was transferred to the Kitise AP area in Makueni County for his new assignment.
He would later learn from a colleague that Ms Kailu had visited the World Vision Kenya offices in Mutomo to inquire about his whereabouts.
In April 2024, Mr Mulavu received a show-cause letter asking him to respond to allegations of engaging in a sexual relationship with a community member said to be a beneficiary of World Vision Kenya, contrary to the organisation’s policy. However, Mr Mulavu insisted that Ms Kailu was a businesswoman and not a beneficiary of the aid agency.
He was, nevertheless, dismissed from his job.
