BY SAM ALFAN.
Former Acting Managing Director of Kenya Airports Authority Yatich Kagungo has obtained orders stopping his seniors from going on with disciplinary proceedings against him.
The proceedings, which were slated for Wednesday afternoon arise from a show cause letter sent to him after he addressed protesting staff on February 4.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Kangugo accuses KAA of placing him in a nonexistent office for the past one and a half years without any duties or assignments.
He claims that he has been totally exempted and kept in the dark about management meetings despite the fact that he is a senior manager and has only been receiving newspapers, plenty of tea and his salary.
In his affidavit, Kagungo claims that on the 4th February, 2019 he was confronted by a group of angry and frustrated union officials and staff members who demanded to hear from him whether he was a part of a group of the top management that wanted to sell off the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Kenya Airways (KQ) despite the fact that it was making huge profits.
“The said angry staff members were more angered by the reality that the said takeover would render them redundant and therefore wished to hear from him by virtue of the fact that he had been on the top echelon of the leadership of the Authority,”. States the court documents.
It is his argument that he addressed the protesting staff in an attempt to cool them down and give them hope that he was going to intercede on their behalf and save their livelihoods.
He said after the address, senior management took issue with him and wrote to him the show cause letter.
The management demanded an explanation on why he should not be punished for allegedly breaching the Human Resource Manual.
Kangugo is also unhappy with the composition of the members of the disciplinary committee with the exception of the current chairperson, saying there has been in constant tag of war with him since he decided to seek legal redress for the breach of his constitutional rights by removing him in 2016.
“The Applicant has no confidence over the composition of KAA disciplinary committee and is fearful that the open bias against him will not lead to a just outcome,” said Omari.
Kangugo says that the outcome of the said disciplinary proceeding against him, if not stopped, will end up humiliating and persecuting him.
“The disciplinary session slated for the 27th February (tomorrow) against the Applicant herein is tantamount to a committee of hyenas presiding over the welfare of a goat, “says Kagungo.
He further says that if the Court does not come to his rescue of by issuing temporary injunction, then his right to fairness will be in jeopardy.
In the court documents filed in court, the former boss also wants the court to issue interim injunction staying KAA letter dated the 25th February, 2019 or any other communication related directing him to appear before on the 27th February, 2019 at 1400hrs for disciplinary proceedings.
Similarly he wants the court to issue permanently restrain KAA from subjecting him to any disciplinary meetings presided by the disciplinary committee as is currently constituted.
The Board of Directors, Kenya Airports Authority, Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Attorney General have been named as respondents in the case.
