MOMBASA ( Halbeeg News) – A court in Kenya’s Mombasa town on Wednesday directed Somali owned fishing company to give four Kenyan sailors $20,000.
The farm identified as MV Nasibu registered in East African nation was said to have failed to respect the rights of its workers.
According to the lawyers representing the workers, the company breached the contract with the employers.
Mumin Ali Mumin, the owner of the company, was accused of failing to pay them salaries, provide food, water, and basic utilities.
He deserted the ship after it broke down and abandoned them altogether.
But the vessel’s lawyer, Hassan Abdi told the court the crew was not in his client’s fishing vessel and were in another ship.
“If the claimants were arrested and charged, it was as a result of the wrongful and illegal actions of the owner of the cargo. The respondent did not have any obligation to pay the claimants any salaries,” Abdi said, seeking to have the claim dismissed.
According to The Star, thee four, Osielo Oking, the captain of the vessel, Stephen Mulinge, Harry Randu Banks, Juma Waziri Kingi, who were captain and engineers, respectively.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Mombasa has ordered the vessel owner pays the $8,400 (Sh840,000) salary arrears, and general damages for breach of contract, totalling $12,400 at 14 per cent interest per annum from the date of the judgment.
Justice James Rika has also turned down $10,000 (Sh10 million) compensation the sailors were seeking.
“It is clear that the respondent employed them. They are not shown to have been in another ship as alleged other than MV Nasibu. The circumstances, in which the claimants found themselves in, are well recorded in the proceedings of the criminal case in Kilifi. And the proceedings are part of the exhibits availed to the court,” the judge ruled.
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