Nairobi CEO Fined Sh1.3M Over “One-Night Stand” WhatsApp Text

A Nairobi tech CEO has been ordered to pay Sh1.3 million in compensation after the Employment and Labour Relations Court found him guilty of sexually harassing and abusing a junior employee. The ruling against Pawa IT Solutions and its CEO, Oscar Limoke, followed a two-year legal battle centered on disturbing WhatsApp messages, explicit videos, and repeated workplace misconduct.

The case exposed the darker side of Kenya’s tech start-up culture, where blurred boundaries and unchecked power dynamics created an unsafe environment. Justice Stella Rutto, who presided over the case, was firm in her ruling:
“This court cannot ignore the clear evidence before it. The WhatsApp messages, the explicit video, and the testimony of the claimant show beyond doubt that the CEO created a hostile, unsafe, and degrading work environment.”

How did the harassment unfold?

Court documents revealed that the harassment began with unsolicited WhatsApp messages, including a link titled “What happens when you stop having sex” and sexually explicit TikTok and ohangla videos. The CEO also made degrading comments, suggesting colleagues could mistake his junior for his “side chick.”

The situation escalated during a company outing at Orchid Club in January 2023, where the woman testified that Limoke raped her after groping her without consent. Overwhelmed and distressed, she sought medical care and counseling. Despite reporting the abuse internally, she faced intimidation, exclusion from company communication channels, and eventual constructive dismissal.

Justice Rutto rejected Limoke’s defense that the texts and videos were “jokes” or informal banter. She questioned why a CEO would use the phrase “one-night stand” with a junior employee if no encounter had occurred, ruling that such language could not be excused in a professional setting.

The judge emphasized that employers are legally obligated to provide safe workplaces free from harassment and gender-based violence, citing both Kenya’s Employment Act and international labor conventions.
“It thus follows that the CEO was required by law to ensure that the workplace was free of sexual harassment and gender-based violence,” she ruled.

The court dismissed the company’s counterclaims of economic loss and instead awarded the former employee Sh120,000 in lieu of notice and Sh1.2 million in damages, underlining that her resignation was a reasonable response to the hostile environment.

This judgment sends a strong warning to employers in Kenya’s corporate sector: sexual harassment and abuse of power will not only destroy reputations but also carry heavy financial and legal consequences.

By Lucky Anyanje