The High Court in Kigali upheld a ruling of a lower court ordering Bank of Kigali (BK) to pay its former employee Rwf3.5m over unfair termination of contract.Modeste Ruhimbaza had worked for the bank under an open-ended contract until 2009, when he was dismissed purportedly during restructuring.Ruhimbaza filed a case at Nyarugenge Intermediate Court complaining that the bank had dismissed him despite his great experience and performance and did not give him a termination package.He sought damages from the bank for the dismissal that was meted before the restructuring was effective.Claimant ‘unhappy’Ruhimbaza won the case at the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court, which ordered BK to pay him Rwf8.2 million.But the bank appealed against the ruling, saying Ruhimbaza had got all he was owed.The case ended up in the High Court on January 8, and during last week’s ruling, the court ruled that Ruhimbaza won on some components and awarded him Rwf3.5m.However, Ruhimbaza was not pleased with the ruling, citing the slashed compensation.“I am losing! It’s unbelievable that the High Court can give me Rwf3m, while the other court had given me around Rwf10m,” Ruhimbaza said while leaving the court room.The court, however, left the possibility of appealing the ruling open to either parties.
