The High Court has handed a partial victory to more than 130 former National Bank of Kenya employees who have spent over a decade in legal battles to secure what they say are their rightful pension benefits.
- •The Court quashed a 2017 decision by the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal that had tilted the dispute in favor of the bank, saying the tribunal violated principles of fair hearing when it ignored a consent order agreed by both sides.
- •The dispute dates back to 2010, when dozens of employees made redundant by NBK challenged the computation of their retirement benefits.
- •Although the tribunal initially ruled in their favor, subsequent proceedings and appeals bogged the case down in technicalities, leaving many of the pensioners — now senior citizens — waiting in vain.
“This case has oscillated in courts for over eight years,” Justice R.E. Aburili said in the ruling. “The impropriety lies in the process, not the merits of the impugned ruling.”
The High Court ordered the tribunal to urgently hear and determine a pending application by the retirees within 60 days, while declining to compel an outright payout. Each side will bear its own legal costs.
The drawn-out case underscores the difficulties faced by pensioners in Kenya, where governance disputes in retirement schemes often leave vulnerable beneficiaries in limbo. It also highlights the binding nature of consent orders, which courts have reaffirmed as equivalent to contracts.
The retirees, many of whom left the bank in the 1990s and 2000s, say their pensions were underpaid by hundreds of millions of shillings. The tribunal’s fresh determination in the coming weeks will decide whether their long wait finally ends — or if yet another chapter of litigation begins.
The development comes at a time when Nigeria’s lender Access Bank Plc has completed its acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group Plc.
The deal, announced in March 2024, closed on 30 May 2025, following approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK).
Access Bank is Africa’s largest lender by customer base, serving over 60 million customers across 24 markets on three continents throughout more than 700 branches and service outlets.
Its operations span Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and the DRC, and it has branches in the UK and UAE, as well as representative offices in China, Lebanon, India, Paris, and Hong Kong. With the acquisition of 100% of NBK, its second after acquiring and rebranding Transnational Bank, Access Bank is strengthening its footprint in Kenya.
