The high court has suspended a decision by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRIi) to hand over management of its staff pension scheme to a corporate entity.
This is after the current Trustees moved to court to stop KEMRI’s move to transfer its Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme from them to a corporate trustee.
While issuing the orders, Justice Gregory Mutai on Tuesday, directed the applicants to serve the respondents within 14 days, while setting the date of June 18 as the hearing date.
The orders were issued after Trustees led by John Musau, Judy Nyagah, Peter Nyakundi and Mumo Mwangangi moved to court through lawyer Kevin Ng’ethe to protest their removal from the management of the pension scheme.
They listed the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA), KEMRI, Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Attorney General and Judicial Service Commission as respondents.
While granting them the conservatory orders, the judge barred KEMRI, whether by itself, its agents, employees, assigns or servants, from interfering with the operations of the KEMRI Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme.
“That pending the hearing of the Notice of Motion application dated 30th April 2026 interpartes, a conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the change of the management of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme from a Scheme managed by members, to a Scheme managed by a Corporate Trustee,” Justice Mutai orders dated May 5 directed.
The trustees in court papers say they were preparing to hold elections to elect new trustees when the KEMRI management informed them on April 27 that it would be irregular to hold the exercise when the corporate trustee was set to take over the scheme on May 4.
On April 24, KEMRI wrote to the four inorbing the that their term in office as trustees of the Scheme had been terminated and they were required to hand over management of the Scheme to Octagon Trustee Services on May 4.
On April 29, the four filed an application in the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal on the same day, under Certificate of Urgency, that sought, among others, that pending hearing and determination of the application and the appeal, the Tribunal restrain the change of the management.
However, the case at the Tribunal could not proceed as they were informed by the Deputy Registrar that the Tribunal was not properly constituted since the term of the Chairperson had ended on April 20, 2026, and thus the Tribunal lacked a quorum to consider the matter.
The Trustees told the court that once the Corporate Trustee takes office on or about 28th May, 2026, as sole trustee of the Scheme, it will not be possible for individual trustees to take up the position of trustees of the Scheme, notwithstanding the success of the appeal, since the Corporate Trustee will already be in office as the sole trustee of the Scheme.
“In the event the Corporate Trustee elects to leave office after taking office as a result of successful prosecution of the appeal, the Scheme, its members and Petitioners will suffer irreparable damage,” they argued.
They are apprehensive that the Scheme and the members will be forced to honour contracts entered into between the Corporate Trustee and service providers in respect of the Scheme or pay penalties and or damages in the event the individual trustees find the contracts prejudicial to the interests of the Scheme, if the changes are not stopped.
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