Explosive revelations have emerged relating to the sexual exploitation of workers on tea farms in Kenya that provide some of the UK’s most beloved supermarket brands, including PG Tips, Lipton, and Sainsbury’s Red Label.
An undercover reporter investigating the matter uncovered the sordid reality during which more than 70 girls on Kenyan tea farms had been subjected to sexual abuse by their supervisors.
The undercover reporter, who was posing as a employee, secretly filmed native bosses pressuring her for sex. Shockingly, the bosses were employed on plantations owned by Unilever, and James Finlay & Co. After the exposé, three managers have been suspended.
What’s even more alarming is that Unilever had beforehand faced similar allegations over 10 years in the past, and had supposedly launched a “zero tolerance” method to sexual harassment, along with reporting techniques and other measures. However, a joint investigation by BBC Africa Eye, and Panorama, revealed that the allegations weren’t being acted upon.
The girls who work on tea farms spoke out about their harrowing experiences, saying that they felt they had no choice however to offer in to their bosses’ sexual calls for as a result of work is so scarce.
One woman interviewed said…
“I can’t lose my job as a result of I truly have children.”
Another girl alleged that a divisional supervisor stopped her job till she agreed to have sex with him while another was contaminated with HIV by a supervisor.
“It is just torture. He wants to sleep with you, then you definitely get a job.”
An undercover reporter from the BBC named Katy (a pseudonym) went to work on tea plantations. Premiere was interviewed by John Chebochok, a recruiter for James Finlay & Co. However, the interview location turned out to be a lodge room.
Chebochok, who had been identified as a “predator” by a quantity of women and worked on Finlay’s plantations for over three many years as each an estate manager and a contracting company proprietor, allegedly trapped Katy against a window and demanded that she touch and undress him.
He said…
“I’ll provide you with some cash, then I’ll provide you with a job. I truly have helped you, help me. We’ll lie down, end and go. Then you come and work.”
Katy resisted his advances earlier than a member of the manufacturing group made a telephone name to provide her an excuse to depart.
“I was so scared and so shocked. It must be actually tough for the women who work under Chebochok.”
After the BBC contacted James Finlay & Co, the corporate said that Chebochok was instantly suspended and that it had reported him to the police. The firm is now investigating whether or not there is a systemic problem with sexual violence in its Kenyan operation.
While working undercover on a farm, Katy also skilled sexual harassment at a location that was being run by Unilever at the time. She attended an induction day the place the divisional manager, Jeremiah Koskei, spoke to recruits about Unilever’s zero-tolerance policy in the path of sexual harassment.
Later that night, Koskei invited “Katy” to fulfill him in a lodge bar and tried to pressure her into having sex with him, suggesting that they return to his compound collectively.
Katy said…
“If my complete life was pegged on this chance, I can only think about how that encounter would have unfolded.”
Katy was assigned to the weeding group, which includes demanding labour for six days per week. Many girls who work on this team request to be transferred to different duties because of the gruelling nature of the work. While working in the weeding team, Katy’s supervisor, Samuel Yebei, asked her to interact in sexual exercise with him in exchange for lighter duties.
Katy reported the behaviour to one of Unilever’s sexual harassment officers. She was told…
“Stand by your principles. Don’t give your physique in exchange for a job.”
Despite her attempts to observe up and discover out what actions have been being taken towards her superiors, Katy didn’t obtain any response. Unilever expressed being “deeply shocked and saddened” by the allegations and sold its operation in Kenya while the BBC was conducting its investigation. The new proprietor, Lipton Teas and Infusions, stated that it had immediately suspended the 2 managers and initiated a “full and independent investigation.” However, Jeremiah Koskei did not reply to the BBC’s request for comment, and Samuel Yebei denies the allegations made against him..