Bridge International Academies Ordered to Pay Teacher KSh192,302 Over Unfair Dismissal

Justice Hellen Wasilwa faulted the education provider for failing to document a proper disciplinary hearing after accusing Arunda Oludhe Ai of corporal punishment. The ruling adds to the organisation’s history of employment disputes involving allegations of procedural unfairness.

Bridge International Academies Foundation must pay a former teacher KSh192,302 after a court declared his summary dismissal unfair and unjustified.

Justice Hellen Wasilwa found that the education provider failed to demonstrate that it followed mandatory disciplinary procedures before dismissing Arunda Oludhe Ai in September 2024.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court awarded Oludhe ten months’ salary as compensation, alongside notice pay, costs and interest.

It also ordered the foundation to issue him with a certificate of service.

“The disciplinary procedure was flawed,” Justice Wasilwa ruled in her judgement delivered on October 8, 2026.

She added that the findings of culpability “were based on non-existent evidence”.

The ruling highlights the legal risks facing employers when disciplinary decisions lack documented hearings and verifiable evidence.

However, it does not establish that corporal punishment never occurred.

Allegations Emerge

Oludhe told the court that he joined Bridge International Academies as a substitute teacher on December 19, 2013.

He subsequently worked at several academies before receiving a fixed posting at Kamuthi Academy in Nairobi.

The dispute began on September 4, 2024, when a parent complained about corporal punishment in a school WhatsApp group.

Oludhe said the message did not identify him by name, although he taught Grade One pupils.

The following day, he received a suspension notice relating to the alleged punishment.

The notice suspended him without pay for 10 days while investigations proceeded.

Oludhe responded on September 6, denying the allegations and challenging the investigation process.

The foundation maintained that several pupils confirmed the teacher had administered corporal punishment.

According to the employer, Schools Supervisor Sarah Ondimu informed Oludhe about the findings on September 17.

She allegedly summoned him to a disciplinary hearing scheduled for September 18, 2024.

The school said a committee comprising Ondimu and two school leaders considered the evidence before recommending termination.

The foundation issued a summary dismissal notice on September 19, citing gross misconduct.

Missing Evidence

The judge’s scrutiny centred on whether the foundation followed the Employment Act’s requirements before terminating Oludhe’s employment.

Section 41 requires employers to explain proposed termination grounds and allow employees an opportunity to respond.

Employees must also be permitted representation by another employee or a shop-floor union representative.

The foundation maintained that Oludhe received a hearing and that his representations were considered.

It relied on a general records book dated September 18, 2024, to support its account.

However, the judge found that the employer produced no letter inviting Oludhe to that hearing.

The court also found no indication that witnesses had been called and heard during the proceedings.

Justice Wasilwa further observed that Oludhe lacked an opportunity to hear evidence from his accusers or cross-examine them.

These omissions undermined the employer’s claim that it had conducted a fair disciplinary process.

The judge concluded that the findings against Oludhe lacked a procedurally sound evidential foundation.

Ten Months’ Pay

The foundation disputed Oludhe’s employment history, claiming he joined in December 2023.

However, the judge accepted 2013 as his commencement year after examining a payslip and a February 2017 probation letter.

Under Section 45 of the Employment Act, termination is unfair when an employer fails to establish a valid reason and fair procedure.

Justice Wasilwa found the foundation had failed to satisfy those requirements.

She awarded Oludhe KSh17,482 in notice pay and KSh174,820, equivalent to 10 months’ salary, for unfair termination.

“Given the long service of the claimant with the respondent and his inability to get another job given his age,” the judge explained, she awarded 10 months’ compensation.

The combined award totals KSh192,302 before statutory deductions. The foundation must also pay legal costs and interest at court rates from the judgement date.

Oludhe had sought substantially more, including damages for alleged defamation, financial losses and constitutional violations.

However, the final orders did not grant separate damages for those claims.

The court also declined to award the additional benefits and reimbursements sought by the former teacher.

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Its decision focused on the unfair dismissal and the remedies flowing directly from that finding.

The judgement reinforces a central employment law principle: serious allegations do not excuse employers from following fair disciplinary procedures.

Even where misconduct is suspected, employers must document the process and give employees a meaningful opportunity to respond.

Bridge International Academies describes itself as an education provider serving underserved communities through affordable, technology-supported schooling.

It states its approach combines teacher training, structured lessons and partnerships with families and communities.

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