Tea producer and exporter James Finlays Kenya has suspended two managers who were exposed for sexually exploiting female workers at the company’s tea estate in Kericho.
Both individuals have been barred from entering James Finlays Kenya.
Finlays said it also reported the BBC allegations against John Chebochok and John Asava to the Kenyan Police.
As the company works with the police to investigate the matter, they have launched independent investigations to fully understand what happened.
“This investigation will cover two key areas – firstly, examining the specific cases of exploitation raised within the programme,” the firm said.
The firm will also seek to know areas they can improve their approach to preventing and addressing any sexual violence, abuse, or harassment across the James Finlays Kenya sites.
Finlays acknowledged that “the documentaries contain footage of two contractors who have worked on Finlays’ sites which indicate serious sexual misconduct”.
The tea firm said it will not tolerate such behaviour.
“We firmly believe that everyone should feel safe when they come to work at Finlays,” the company said.
Finlays acknowledged that though it had put in place measures to ensure such doesn’t happen to its employees, “the experiences these women have shared clearly show that we need to go further and do better”.
From BBC exposé, Finlays has moved to suspend the suspects accused of sexual harassment.
