Wage Dispute Puts Nairobi Embassy in Legal Spotlight

(NAIROBI) – Nine Kenyan employees of the South Sudan embassy in Nairobi have filed a case at Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court, alleging they were underpaid and denied salaries for extended periods over the past 13 years.

The court documents show that, on certain months when salaries were disbursed, some employees received less than one fifth of the amounts recorded in official payroll documents from Juba. The filings also allege that deductions for pensions and other statutory contributions were not remitted.

The claimants, who work in the embassy’s foreign affairs, immigration and security departments, say they have not been issued with employment contracts despite serving for over a decade. They are seeking payment for an estimated 53 months of unpaid salaries, amounting to nearly three and a half years.

In one example cited in the court papers, an employee agreed to a net monthly salary of USD 500 (about 2.3 million South Sudanese Pounds/SSP at current exchange rates) but is claiming USD 25,750 (about 118.45 million SSP) in arrears.

Payroll records from Juba, however, show a net monthly salary of USD 2,835 (about 13.03 million SSP) for the same employee in August 2023, a figure more than five times what he says he sometimes received.

Another employee, whose agreed net monthly salary was USD 1,000 (about 4.6 million SSP), is seeking over USD 53,000 (about 243.8 million SSP) in arrears. Payroll records again show USD 2,835 for August 2023, more than double the agreed pay.

The documents indicate that, in the past 13 years, salaries were paid consistently only between 2013 and 2015. Some payments were reportedly made in cash, without payslips being issued.

The case could test the application of diplomatic immunity, which typically protects embassies and diplomats from legal proceedings in host countries. The workers’ lawyer, Nicodemus Ouma of Cheboi Ouma Oriema Advocates, has cited a 2020 Kenyan Court of Appeal decision that found diplomatic immunity does not cover employment disputes, which are considered private or commercial matters. That ruling is currently under appeal at the Supreme Court.

According to court filings, the employees had previously written to embassy officials seeking a resolution to the payment issues, but no action was taken. The embassy had until 8 August (yesterday) to confirm its legal representation before the case proceeds.