Kenyan Court Overturns Order Forcing Wasoko to Rehire 9 Former Employees

A Kenyan court has overturned an earlier order that required Wasoko, a B2B eCommerce startup, to keep nine former employees on its payroll. These employees were laid off in December 2023 as the company prepared for a merger with Egypt’s MaxAB.

The court found that the employees did not deserve the initial order because they withheld critical information. Wasoko’s lawyers stated that even after the company reinstated the employees per the court’s ruling, they did not return to work. Additionally, one of the employees was still officially employed and involved in redundancy discussions when the order was issued.

The court sided with Wasoko, stating that keeping these employees on the payroll was unfair and unsustainable. In its decision on June 11, 2024, the court noted that the employees had refused to return to work after the order was given, and one had even addressed the issue that led to the court case.

The employees were unhappy with the ruling. Reports suggest that they were allowed to work from home sometimes but faced limited access to necessary tools and a hostile work environment, making it difficult to work from the office.

Following the new ruling, both parties must prepare for a pre-trial hearing on the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by the former employees.

In February 2024, Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court had initially stopped Wasoko from laying off these employees after they claimed the layoffs began during the merger preparations with MaxAB. 

Wasoko argued that it followed proper procedures, stating that the redundancy notices from December 2023 were valid. The former employees contended that the notices were not properly filed with the labour office as required by law.

As the case proceeds, the Wasoko and MaxAB merger, originally set to be completed by April 2024, remains delayed due to ongoing restructuring and economic challenges.