The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji on Wednesday, February 22, ordered Inspector General of the National Police Service Japhet Koome to investigate claims of harassment made by workers employed in tea farms in Kericho County.
While referring to a BBC expose, Haji called for comprehensive investigations into the allegations made including reports on the alleged deliberate transmission of HIV to the workers.
In his letter addressed to IG Koome, DPP directed the investigative agencies to submit a report on the findings within seven days.
"You are hereby directed to undertake comprehensive investigations into the allegations of rape, sexual assault, compelled or indecent acts, sexual harassment and deliberate transmission of HIV or any other life-threatening sexually transmitted disease, as highlighted by the BBC Africa Eye Documentary.
The resultant investigation file should be submitted to the Office within seven (7) days of the date hereof," the letter read in part.
Haji's directive came on the back of intensified pressure from various quarters calling for investigations into the matter.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kericho Governor Eric Mutai issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the police to arrest the culprits identified in the testimonies made during the filming of the investigative piece titled "The True Cost of Our Tea".
Speaking in Kericho County, the Governor- alongside a host of leaders from the county- threatened to take action if security agencies failed to arrest the culprits.
On Tuesday, February 21, Kericho Woman Representative Beatrice Kemei presented a petition in parliament calling for investigations through the Departmental Committee on Labour.
In addition, the Government of the United Kingdom through its High Commissioner to Kenya- Jack Marriott- called for speedy investigations into the concerns raised in the expose.
One of the companies adversely mentioned in the expose announced the suspension of two employees believed to have been involved in the heinous acts.
However, no culprit had been arrested by the time of this publication- despite pressure from international consumers threatening to boycott tea products from Kenya.
