Court Awards Former Family Bank Manager KSh 1.3 Million Over Unlawful Dismissal for "Underperformance"

A Nairobi court awards a former Family Bank manager KSh 1.3 million after finding his 2017 dismissal for "underperformance" lacked written KPIs and due process.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 24, 2026, 5:51 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from TUKO.co.ke

Judicial Finding of Unfair Termination

In a judgment delivered on April 17, 2026, Justice Agnes Kitiku Nzei ruled that the dismissal of a former manager at Family Bank Limited was both substantively and procedurally unfair. The claimant, who was earning a monthly salary of KSh 145,000 at the time of his exit, sued the lender after being fired for alleged poor performance. The court found that the bank failed to establish a valid reason for the termination and neglected the mandatory procedural safeguards outlined in the Employment Act.

Ambiguous Performance Targets and Role Transfers

The claimant joined the bank in 2013 and was promoted to Manager of Management Information and Analysis in 2014. Over the following years, he was moved across several departments, including Corporate Banking and Institutional Banking. The court noted that while his duties changed frequently, the bank never provided written job descriptions or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for these new roles. Justice Nzei emphasized that an employee cannot be held liable for underperforming in a role where the expectations and metrics were never formally communicated in writing.

The "April Paradox": Underperformance vs. Rewards

One of the more striking details of the case involved the bank’s internal recognition of the claimant. During the same period that the bank cited "continued underperformance" as the reason for his dismissal, the claimant was awarded a KSh 5,000 shopping voucher and a dinner voucher for two at the Serena Hotel for "exemplary performance" during April 2017. The court found this contradiction significantly undermined the bank's argument that the manager was failing in his duties.