EBBY ONDIEKI V. BARCLAYS BANK OF KENYA LIMITED

RULING OF THE COURT

On 30th July, 1999 Hebby (or Ebby) Ondieki (“the applicant”) entered the Nakuru branch of National Bank of Kenya and withdrew a sum of Kshs.800,000 in cash. She walked to Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited, Nakuru branch (“the bank”) where she intended to deposit the money. Finding a queue of customers, and believing that she was entitled to priority service as a “premier customer”, she walked to the front of the queue and informed a bank teller that she had a large amount of money to deposit. The bank teller was serving another customer and he rudely told her in a loud voice that although she had a large sum of money to deposit she should queue like all other customers. The applicant complied and stood in line to be served. When it was her turn to be served – lo and behold – she had no money at all as it had all been stolen as she stood in the queue.

Those facts were established through evidence before the trial Judge (Maraga, J. – as he then was) who found that the app…