AIRWAYS WINS KEY ROUND IN BATTLE WITH SACKED WORKERS

NAIROBI - National carrier Kenya Airways on Thursday won a key victory in a
legal tussle with 32 employees dismissed over alleged drug trafficking.

High Court Judge Erastus Githinji granted leave for application for a
judicial review seeking to prohibit a judge from hearing a suit lodged at
the Industrial Court.

Further, the ruling halts hearing of the case until the airline's
application is determined.

Kenya Airways wants Justice Charles Chemuttut prohibited from hearing the
case filed by Transport and Allied Workers Union (TAWU).

The application for leave was filed on April 22 under a certificate of
urgency and was argued before the judge on the same afternoon.

The leave granted in Justice Githinji's order will halt all further
proceedings in the Industrial Court case, until the hearing and final
determination of the judicial review application.

The employees were sacked in April 2002 in the wake of the high-profile
arrest of former stewardess Priscilla Jemutai Kolongei and growing fears
that Kenya was becoming a major drug transit point.

The former stewardess has since been convicted and jailed over the
possession of heroin worth Sh27.8 million.

Employees who have gone to court over unlawful dismissal include 29 cabin
crews and three crew scheduling staff.