In a rather queer turn of events, nine former employees of the Kenyan e-commerce firm Wasoko have announced that they are throwing in the towel on their lawsuit against the company for wrongful dismissal. That comes less than a month after a Kenyan court quashed an existing order that had required Wasoko to keep them on payroll.

This was after the Employment and Labour Relations court had given them 21 days to prepare for a pre-trial hearing, which they still need to meet. As a result, the case will be thrown out, and the ex-employees will not have plans to file a fresh suit, given that time and financial challenges are at play.

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Reasons behind discontinuing the lawsuit

One of the ex-employees gave the reasons why they had to forego further litigation: the cost of fighting it and the possibility that they could lose to the extent of being compelled to pay Wasoko. On top of that, most of the petitioners were not employed, so they were not in a position to afford further litigation.

Had the case proceeded and the petitioners won, it would have created a precedent that would have obligated Wasoko to pay the employees the same exit packages as those who had worked for the company for a more extended period. The petitioners were aggrieved that those employees who had left “stable” jobs to join Wasoko were compensated less than those who had stayed with the company longer.

Wasoko’s response

Wasoko has also said that they followed the process to file the case in court and that on June 11th, the court overturned all interim orders against the company. According to the ex-employees, the court dismissed most of their submissions and referred to an affidavit signed under duress by one of them who wished to leave the suit.  

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The case was first presented in January 2024, barely days after Wasoko had publicised intentions to integrate its operations with MaxAB from Egypt. While the merger was to be completed by April, it is yet to be completed, and the involved firms are understood to be rebranding the conjoined business. As the deal is delicate, Wasoko says they cannot comment on the completion date. 

Nine former employees of Wasoko decided to withdraw a case for alleged wrongful termination against the firm, which shows how costly and risky suing a company can be. The financial commitment required in pursuing the case and the possible repercussions of an adverse judgement were the primary considerations for the petitioners to drop their suit. The pathway of the merged Wasoko-MaxAB has yet to unfold.