- A Chinese manager at TCM Mabati Factory in Eldoret was filmed kicking and slapping a Kenyan employee, sparking nationwide outrage.
- The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) has called for the immediate deportation of the foreign national.
- COTU warns that weak oversight in some foreign-owned factories exposes Kenyan workers to abuse.
The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) has demanded that a Chinese manager caught assaulting a Kenyan worker at TCM Mabati Factory in Eldoret be deported immediately.
The shocking footage, widely circulated online, shows the manager kicking and slapping the employee during an argument, prompting public anger and renewed scrutiny of foreign-owned factories in Kenya.
In a statement addressed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, COTU said the incident violated the worker’s dignity and displayed blatant contempt toward local employees.
“Allowing the manager to remain in Kenya would betray the trust Kenyan workers place in the ministry responsible for their protection,” the union stated.
COTU urged both the Ministries of Interior and Labour to strengthen monitoring and enforcement in workplaces run by foreign nationals, warning that the Eldoret case reflects wider gaps in regulation and oversight.
Despite the public outrage, the assaulted worker said on Sunday that he had forgiven his supervisor and hoped to continue working at the factory.
In a separate video, he emphasised the importance of resolving future disagreements through discussion and civil feedback rather than violence.
The Eldoret incident follows similar complaints raised by COTU at the Export Processing Zone, where a Chinese investor allegedly forced Kenyan workers to sing Chinese songs during shifts and verbally abused a trade union official.
COTU warned that such behaviour is indicative of deeper problems in some foreign-owned businesses and urged decisive action to protect Kenyan workers’ rights.
