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The chairman of Karen and Lang’ata District Association has lost an application seeking to compel the association’s office administrator to release the group’s laptop and mobile phone, containing the personal details of members.
Justice Linnet Ndolo dismissed the application by Mr Samora Sikalieh saying his position as the chairman is contested and the matter was pending in court.
She added that the office administrator, Ms Rosebell Wacuka Karobia, who had been suspended and later recalled maintained that she has no authority to release private members’ data, which the chairman wanted to access.
“In light of this, the court is not satisfied that the claimant has met the threshold for gaining of the mandatory injunction at the interlocutory stage,” the judge said.
Mr Sikalieh moved to court accusing Ms Karobia of insubordination for refusing to hand over the laptop and a mobile phone, which she said belonged to the association.
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He had asked the court to compel Ms Karobia to release a laptop, the association’s mobile phone and the passwords, together with a comprehensive report.
The court heard that Ms Karobia was employed as an office administrator in May 2018. Her office is the nerve center of the association, as she undertakes daily administrative roles to promote the group’s objectives.
The judge heard that the laptop contained information including names, ages, and physical addresses of the members, their property and contributions of each member.
Ms Karobia was allegedly sent on compulsory leave on July 4, without pay pending investigations.
Mr Sikalieh said she has refused to hand over the laptop and mobile phone as directed, a move that allegedly grounded the operations of the association.
He said the refusal to release the laptop was in violation of the provisions of the Data Protection Act.
The chairman said he was apprehensive that she may share the confidential personal data with third parties who may use it against members of the association.
But Ms Karobia opposed the application and explained that the association constitutes a committee headed by the chairman and a secretariat headed by the office administrator.
The secretariat, she said, runs daily operations of the operations while the committee is responsible for oversight and that she has occupied the position for the last eight years under four different committees.
The court heard that the association held an extraordinary general meeting on September 7, where she was removed together with other committee members and a caretaker committee was elected.
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He said the chairman lost the capacity to represent the association or sue on its behalf.
She said she is personally and individually responsible for the safety and security of the data and after he was elected, the chairman asked her to forward to his private email the members’ data for his personal use, a request she declined.
She accused the chairman of blackmailing and intimidating her and the decision to send her on compulsory leave was made unilaterally by the chairman with the aim of gain access to the data.
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