PROBLEMS RELATING TO CLAIMS FOR LOST EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION BENEFITS

Rarely would a person think that he/she was destined to low ranks of achievement in society. Equally very few people are bold enough to accept responsibility for their destiny. Usually we think we have the ability to jump high to hit the clouds but for the heavy winds or somebody’s failure elsewhere. Most of the claimants who lost their employment upon being forced into exile or detained, claim that they could have attained highest ranks in their organizations and received huge terminal/retirement benefits. Obviously some of these claimants are unable to produce documents showing their career progression. For some who are able to produce their documents, it transpires that they have a chequered history or they were rolling stones. In other cases the companies have long since folded up. The question put to the claimants is whether or not they are realistically expressing their expectations or it is a matter that they never thought would arise hence not ready to make genuine and realistic demands from the Tribunal. Whatever the case may be the position of the Tribunal has been to require fairly strict proof (not mere assertions) to discharge the burden of substantiating such claims. If the claimant fails to provide pointers that his/her employment/education career was adversely interrupted, the Tribunal awards K15,000.00 final compensation for such a loss. I.e. if there is mere evidence of interruption for political reason.

Quite often problems have arisen where a claimant had his employment/education career interrupted out later on continued in employment/education with another institution. Most of the claimants indicate that those new institutions were not as good as the old institutions. 

The Tribunal recognizes that institutions cannot operate under uniform conditions and in a similar manner. However, these are the challenges which human life must be prepared to face. Therefore the Tribunal being mandated to pay compensation and not damages, pays flat final rate of K15,000.00. The payment is an acknowledgement and recognition that the political environment interfered with ones right to employment and/or education.