A Chinese national left the country without settling a Ksh3.07 million debt owed to his Kenyan employee.
The Chinese national, Deng Hailan, was on the receiving end after he was caught on camera beating his employee, Simon Siro Oseko.
Oseko moved to court and was awarded Ksh3.07 million as damages on June 29, 2021, after the Chinese national was found guilty of assault and causing bodily harm.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the Chinese national to pay Osero Ksh3.07 million in damages for violation of his rights.
The blame has now turned to the government after it let the Chinese national and three others leave Kenya before the case was concluded.
Oseko's lawyer stated that they had written to the Chinese Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but no response on his inquiries had come through.
“The court issued the orders and even compensated my client but things are not going well. We don’t have the Chinese national hence no one is available to be handed the orders,” lawyer Steven Mogaka stated.
After the assault incident, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided the premises and arrested three other Chinese nationals.
Detectives established that the four Chinese nationals were operating the restaurant illegally since they did not have work permits to be in the country and neither did they have business operation permits.
In the court papers filed at the High Court, Oseko argued that he was tortured and subjected to indecent treatment, adding that he was sexually harassed by Deng Hailan.
"All I want is justice, nothing else. I do not have any ulterior motive whatsoever," Oseko stated while speaking with Kenyans.co.ke at the time.
During the probe into the incident, the Chinese government declared its support for the Kenyan authorities after the incident sparked an uproar in the country.
"The Embassy noticed a video clip about a Chinese chef and Kenyan colleague. We support the Kenyan police to investigate the whole issue thoroughly according to Kenyan laws. Whoever violated the law will face legal consequences," an excerpt of the statement from the Chinese Embassy read.
