Court dismisses petition challenging amended KUPPET constitution

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has secured a legal victory after the Employment and Labour Relations Court dismissed a petition challenging recent amendments to its constitution, effectively clearing the path for the union to proceed with its long-awaited national elections.

In a judgment delivered on December 18, 2025, Justice Mathews Nderi Nduma ruled that the amendments to the KUPPET constitution were lawfully undertaken and properly registered by the Registrar of Trade Unions.

The court found no violation of the union’s constitution, the Labour Relations Act, or the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

The petition had sought to invalidate amendments approved and registered on or about March 13, 2025, arguing that the process was unconstitutional, illegal, and procedurally flawed.

The petitioner, Anthony Ndegwa, further claimed that the changes introduced excessive nomination fees that were discriminatory and exclusionary, allegedly undermining members’ rights to fair labour practices and equal participation in union leadership.

However, in a decisive ruling, the court rejected all the claims and entered judgment in favour of KUPPET and the Registrar of Trade Unions.

“Accordingly, the court finds that the 1st Respondent did not violate its own constitution, any statutory provision, or any constitutional provision in amending the KUPPET constitution,” Justice Nduma ruled.

The court further held that the Registrar of Trade Unions lawfully approved and registered the proposed amendments, dismissing allegations that the approval process was unfair, unreasonable, or in breach of Article 47 of the Constitution on fair administrative action.

As a result, the court declined to issue orders sought by the petitioners, including declarations nullifying the amendments, orders of certiorari to quash the altered constitution, injunctions restraining implementation of the changes, or directives compelling a fresh amendment process.

The petitioners had also sought declarations that the revised nomination fees for union leadership positions were excessive and discriminatory, and had asked the court to compel KUPPET to review and lower the fees to allow wider participation by ordinary members.

These arguments were similarly rejected, with the court finding no constitutional or statutory breach in how the amendments were formulated and adopted.

“For the avoidance of doubt, all the prayers sought in this petition have no merit and are dismissed firstly for want of jurisdiction and secondly for lack of merit,” the judge stated.

In the judgment with far-reaching implications, the court addressed the growing number of similar cases filed in various ELRC courts across the country, all challenging the same amendments to the KUPPET constitution.

Justice Nduma noted that multiple suits on the same subject matter had been filed by different parties, raising the risk of conflicting decisions by courts of equal status.

The court declared that the judgment would serve as a “test guide” for them, with the consent of the parties.

This means the outcome of that petition, and by extension other similar cases, will be guided by the findings and conclusions reached in this decision.