The Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya) has issued a strong call for the immediate deportation of a Chinese national filmed assaulting a Kenyan employee at a factory in Eldoret.
The viral video, whose exact date remains unclear, shows the Kenyan worker attempting to defend himself as the Chinese supervisor kicks and slaps him. According to COTU, the assailant is a manager at TCM Mabati Factory in Eldoret, where the victim works under his authority.
In a statement addressed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, COTU condemned the incident as a blatant violation of the worker’s rights and dignity. The union insisted that it will not tolerate situations where foreign nationals mistreat Kenyan workers and demanded swift action.
COTU stated that deporting the Chinese manager should be the minimum response from the Ministry of Interior, noting that “anything less would be a betrayal of the trust Kenyan workers have placed in your Ministry.”
The union further urged CS Murkomen, working alongside the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, to intensify oversight, compliance, and enforcement measures targeting foreign-run enterprises to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Despite the public outrage, the assaulted worker has publicly stated that he has forgiven his supervisor and wishes to continue working at the factory. He called for future disputes to be addressed respectfully and internally.
“I have forgiven him, and I still want to work here. If there is a problem next time, we will talk in the office, and I will accept my mistake. But I have forgiven him,” he said in a video shared after the confrontation.
This latest incident comes on the heels of another controversy highlighted by COTU involving a Chinese investor at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ). The union reported that the investor forced Kenyan workers to sing Chinese songs before, during, and after work, and verbally abused the General Secretary of the Tailors and Textile Workers Union.
