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Employment and labour relations court has ordered a Chinese restaurant where Kenyan was caught on camera being whipped to pay Sh3 million as damages for violation of its employee rights.

In a judgement delivered by Justice Mathews Nderi has ordered the management of the Chinese restaurant namely Chez Wou Restaurant and a Chinese identified as Deng Hailan to pay the complainant Simon Oseko Siro Sh Sh 3.07 million in damages for violation of his rights.

The Judge also awarded the victim an extra sh 72,000 as compensation for illegal dismissal and warned foreign nationals from violating the rights of their employees.

“It is the court finding that the Chinese restaurant used unlawful and unconstitutional methods to punish staff including the petitioner(Oseko). The court awards the claimant general damages to a sum of Sh 3 million for the human rights and fundamental freedom violations,” ruled justice Nderi.

While awarding damages the court noted that the victim Oseko lost his prospects of employment and lost his source of income as a result of indiginty meted on him by the restaurant and it’s workers and for exercising his right to report the employer to the police.

Oseko had through Musyoki Mogaka and Company Advocates petitioned the labour caught seeking damages of Sh 5 million from the chinese restaurant and Hailan for violation of his rights.

This is after Chez Wou Restaurant that was put on the spot last year after a Chinese national Deng Hailan was caught on camera physically assaulting Oseko at the said restaurant and later dismissed at his post withou an explanation or compensation.

In the video that went viral last year, Hailan was seen whipping Oseko at the restaurant as he groans in pain, while other workers watch from a distance.

Oseko had worked at the restaurant for three months and within that period faced sexual,verbal and physical abuse.

Justice Nderi said that Oseko suffered extreme indignity and loss of self-esteem at the hands of the Chinese restaurant and Hailan.

‘The victim suffered extreme cruelty, humiliations, psychological, trauma;pain and suffering loss of self-esteem as a result of the continuous sexual harassment, corporal punishment, verbal abuse and confinement whilst being humiliations in front of co-workers. The Petitioner has hallucinations an nightmares as a result thereof,” added the Judge

According to the evidence brought to the court through the victim’s lawyer showed that the Oseko was a waiter and his attacker was a Chinese cook namely Hailan. He narrated how on that fateful day the cook attacked him after he refused his sexual advances.

Oseko informed the court that he was orally employed as a waiter and earned Sh 12,000 per month, which was paid in cash.

Despite not being issued with a written employment contract, the restaurant management issued Oseko with a letter of introduction to State departments, including Nairobi City County’s Public Health Department, for purposes of examination and certificate as a food handler.

Hailan is alleged to have made sexual advances towards Oseko in October 2019. “I went to the kitchen to collect ice-cubes and found Hailan cooking fish. I opened the fridge and in the process an ice cube fell on the floor. I bent to pick it and he attacked me,” said the Oseko.

Following the attack incident the cook Hailan together with three other colleagues namely Yu Ling,Ou Qiang and Chang Yueping were arrested after a complain was submitted at Kileleshwa police station.

Hailan and three other chinese nationals were never subjceted to Kenyan criminal justice system as they were deported in March 2020 aboard a Chinese Southern Airlines from JKIA.

The deportation order was issued after Milimani Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani allowed police 15 days to countinue holding the four in order to complete probe into the incident.