The Court of Appeal has postponed hearing a tussle between nine partners at audit firm Deloitte East Africa until a case on whether the matter should be referred for arbitration is determined.

The court made the decision after the partners claimed Justice Nixon Sifuna blundered by extending interim orders acquired by Amaha Bekele Admassie when his partnership with the firm had ended.

The partners at the company, which is the local arm of British audit firm Deloitte & Touche LLP, had censured Justice Sifuna for declining to refer the matter for settlement before an arbitrator.

Justices Sankale ole Kantai, Francis Tuiyott and Mwaniki Gachoka ruled that if the case before the High Court proceeds the applicants will be denied a chance for arbitration as they had requested.

In May, Admassie got orders barring his co-partners Graeme Berry, Ann Muraya, Doreen Mbogho, Gladys Makumi, Fred Okwiri, Arifa Sheikh, Bernadette Wahogo and Charles Luo from ousting him.

He had also sought orders allowing him full access to the workplace as an equity partner even as the eight partners argued that the court forced them to remain in an irretrievably broken relationship.