Kenyan B2B startup Twiga Foods has been mandated to compensate a former sales employee with over KES 1 million ($7,800) following a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court that deemed his termination unjust.
In a virtual hearing on October 9, Justice Linnet Ndolo determined that Twiga improperly dismissed Maxton Duke Kibira in December 2018, citing “poor performance” without substantiating the claim. The court highlighted that the company failed to provide Kibira with a defined job description and neglected to adhere to proper procedures before ending his contract.
This verdict is part of a growing trend of labor-related rulings prompting Kenyan tech startups to enhance their compliance with employee rights. Earlier in April, the court ordered neobank Umba to pay KES 2.88 million ($22,300) for unfair dismissal of an executive due to lack of documented performance goals. In the same month, Dawa Life Sciences was criticized for unequal pay among employees holding identical positions, sparking discussions about transparency in compensation within the tech sector.
Kibira, who began working at Twiga in 2015 with a monthly salary of around KES 100,000 ($774), testified that he faced unattainable sales targets, mandatory overtime, and frequent relocations between work sites. He also alleged that the company unlawfully deducted KES 426,000 ($3,298) from his wages, labeling it a “surcharge” for unaccounted cash without offering him an opportunity to contest the deduction.
Justice Ndolo observed, “The respondent’s representative failed to present any evidence supporting claims of poor performance,” and criticized the company’s unilateral salary deductions as violations of labor regulations. The judge further condemned Twiga for penalizing Kibira twice over the same matter-first by reducing his pay and then terminating his employment.
Twiga maintained that Kibira’s performance was consistently below expectations despite multiple warnings, and that the deductions corresponded to bonuses he had not earned. Nevertheless, the court found that the company did not provide proof of underperformance nor show that Kibira was given a chance to improve.
Consequently, the court awarded Kibira compensation equivalent to six months’ salary along with reimbursement of the improper deductions, totaling KES 1.026 million ($7,800) plus accrued interest.
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