Former Standard Group CEO Sam Shollei will be smiling all the way to the bank after he won Ksh45 million for abrupt firing.

Employment and Labour Relations Court judge Hellen Wasilwa, on Tuesday, October 4, directed a local brewer to pay Shollei, who served as its MD for a year, the money after relieving him of his duties.

The court ruled that no sufficient reasons were provided to the former executive before he was shown the door by his former employer in 2018. 

Shollei, according to the ruling, was also not given a notice before he was fired after just serving for one year at the company.

An image of a legal scale and a gavel.  FILE

“As provided under Section 45(2) of the Employment Act, the termination of the contract was unfair and unjustified,” the court ruled. 

Reports indicated that his firing was influenced by a critical letter he wrote to the company's board that did not seat well with its top management.

In the ruling, Judge Wasilwa awarded him Ksh25 million as a 10-month salary for the unfair firing as well as an additional pay of Ksh4.5 million to cover his unutilised leave.

He was also awarded Ksh5.5 million in gratuity among others.

Shollei had sued the brewer demanding Ksh75 million on the basis that it did not follow disciplinary process before terminating him.

He had a storied career at the helm of Kenya's largest companies including the five years he served atop the Standard Group - PLC.

Shollei joined the Mombasa Road-based media giant in September 2012 and resigned in 2017. 

He led the media outlet through some turbulent times and oversaw the launch of KTN News, a 24-hour channel that became among the three most watched TV stations.

File image of a court gavel FILE By Derrick Okubasu, Kenyans.co.ke