- Safaricom to compensate 17 former Area Sales Managers a total of over KSh 55 million.
- Court ruled the employees were unfairly dismissed in 2018 over a failed subscriber registration project.
- Each will receive compensation equivalent to 10 months’ salary plus one month instead of notice.
- The judge found Safaricom imposed “impossible standards” and ignored flagged project flaws.
- Safaricom’s defence blaming workers for device misuse was rejected by the court.
Safaricom PLC has been ordered to pay over KSh 55 million to 17 former employees after the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled their 2018 dismissals were unlawful and unfair.
Justice Mathews Nduma, who presided over the case, noted that the 17 employees, all Area Sales Managers (ASMs), were unfairly blamed for the failure of an electronic subscriber registration project launched using Huawei Y311 devices.
“The Claimants were subjected to the same unfair and impossible work conditions by the Respondent and were wrongly accused of negligence,” the judge said.
Despite raising repeated concerns about operational issues in the device rollout, the ASMs were dismissed without being given a proper chance to defend themselves.
The court heard that the ASMs flagged deficiencies in the system when it was piloted in 2016. However, Safaricom proceeded with a massive rollout of over 90,000 devices. In early 2018, employees were ordered to account for the gadgets, many of which had been distributed to agents and dealers.
By June 28, 2018, all 39 ASMs were dismissed, although only five were later reinstated. The rest launched the legal case, seeking justice and compensation.
Justice Nduma awarded each claimant the equivalent of 10 months’ gross salary, plus one month’s pay instead of notice. Payouts ranged from KSh 935,000 to over KSh 4.2 million, depending on individual salary scales.
The judge dismissed claims for housing allowances, future earnings, and aggravated damages due to lack of proof.
Safaricom has also been ordered to pay interest on the awards and cover the full cost of the suit.
Safaricom had argued the workers were negligent and caused financial loss of KSh 544.5 million. The company said devices were found on competitor networks or improperly registered.
But the court ruled that the employees had been forced to work under systemic and policy-related failures, which were ignored by management.
This landmark ruling closes a seven-year employment dispute and sets a precedent for fair labour practices in large corporations.
