Kenya starts probe into sexual harassment claims at UK tea firms
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Loading... - Melanie Corbyn
- 23 Feb 2023
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Kenyan legislators have formed a committee to look into the allegations of sexual abuse of female workers at tea plantations owned by two UK firms as alleged in a BBC exposé last Monday.
National Assembly Deputy speaker Gladys Shollei said the committee will investigate the allegations and report back within two weeks.
Several female legislators have as well condemned the actions of the perpetrators and called for quick action following the exposé.
“Today I’ve been reminded that slavery still exists in this nation. I cannot explain how a man has violated women in tea plantations for 30 years and nothing has been done,” said lawmaker Beatrice Elachi.
Beatrice Kemei, the woman representative for tea-growing Kericho County, said the investigative report has showed the “entrenched sexual harassment in the [multinational tea farms] operating in our country.”
Appalling behaviour
“I am concerned by the allegations of appalling behaviour made in this documentary — sexual abuse and exploitation has no place in society,” the UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Mariott said
The BBC Eye documentary revealed widespread sexual abuse of women by senior managers in exchange for work opportunities at two tea estates owned by UK firms James Finlay & Company and Unilever — which has since sold its brands to CVC Capital Partners. Read More…
