The Employment and Labour Relations Court affirmed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) authority to transfer or deploy prosecution staff according to operational needs, declining to grant an injunction that would have restricted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) from exercising this managerial mandate.
In a judgment delivered on October 7, 2026, Justice Dr. Jacob Gakeri ruled that the court could not issue a blanket order preventing the ODPP from transferring prosecution staff based on the exigencies of duty and individual circumstances.
The decision arose from a petition filed by Pamela Nzambi Venda, an employee, who challenged her transfer from Kajiado to Voi in Taita Taveta County.
She argued that the transfer violated her constitutional rights and the ODPP Deployment and Transfer Policy, 2018.
In the court papers, the office maintained that the transfer was intended to address staffing needs, distribute prosecutorial resources fairly and ensure efficient delivery of prosecution services across the country.
In its determination, the court recognised staff transfers as an essential managerial prerogative, noting that public officers may be required to serve in different parts of the country in fulfilment of their employment obligations.
The judgment also highlighted Section 5(v) of the ODPP Deployment and Transfer Policy, which empowers the DPP to increase or reduce staffing levels at any station according to workload and service requirements.
However, the court found that the specific transfer had procedural setbacks, as it was issued while the employer was on approved annual leave.
Consequently, the court allowed Venda to remain at Kajiado until the end of 2026.
Importantly, the court declined to grant the Venda’s request for an injunction that would have restricted the ODPP’s transfer powers, expressly stating that such an order would deny the institution the ability to transfer prosecution staff in response to operational demands on a case-by-case basis.
The court also declined to award general damages, with each party ordered to bear its own costs.
The ruling underscores the balance between the ODPP’s institutional responsibility to deploy personnel where their services are most needed and its obligation to follow established procedures when making individual transfer decisions.
For the ODPP, the judgment preserves the institution’s ability to reorganise its workforce to meet changing demands while emphasising the importance of reasonable notice, procedural fairness and consideration of employees’ circumstances in implementing transfers, officials said.
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