A lewd WhatsApp “one-night stand” message and sexually explicit ohangla video from a city chief executive to his junior became the smoking gun in a harrowing workplace harassment case that has exposed the darkest corners of the corporate world.
The woman, who says she was raped by her boss and relentlessly harassed after a company party at a city hotel, resigned amid trauma, intimidation, and pay cuts, but ultimately triumphed in court with a Sh1.3 million award.
A recent decision from the Employment and Labour Relations Court has laid bare the murky underbelly of a tech start-up culture, when Justice Stella Rutto delivered a landmark judgment against Pawa IT Solutions and its embattled CEO Oscar Limoke
A former female employee, whose identity we withhold due to legal concerns, walked out of the Milimani Law Courts on September 19, 2025, clutching victory after a two-year battle that had pitted her testimony against that of her boss.
“This court cannot ignore the clear evidence before it. The WhatsApp messages, the explicit video, and the testimony of the claimant show beyond doubt that the CEO created a hostile, unsafe, and degrading work environment,” Justice Rutto ruled.
Although the CEO denied raping her while she was tipsy, Justice Rutto concluded that the woman’s decision to seek medical attention the same night, coupled with the incriminating messages, proved her account.
The judge further ruled that the sexually explicit WhatsApp video, even when claimed to be “humour” and allegedly shared with the CEO’s wife and others, crossed professional boundaries.
“The text messages sent by the first respondent (Limoke) to the claimant, when considered alongside the definition of sexual harassment, lead me to conclude that they constitute sexual harassment,” Rutto observed.
The court ordered the tech company to pay the woman Sh1.3 million in compensation for sexual harassment and workplace abuse.
The woman joined the tech company as a Finance and Administration associate on September 6, 2021, reporting directly to the CEO.
According to the court papers, by all accounts, she discharged her responsibilities with diligence and professionalism.
But tensions began subtly. On September 17, 2022, Limoke sent her a link to an article titled “What happens when you stop having sex” via WhatsApp.
The woman found the message “highly disconcerting,” given the power dynamics between herself and the boss.
Upon receiving the message, she testified that she confided in a colleague, who advised her to proceed with caution, adding that a former colleague who had also been a recipient of such texts and who had reacted harshly was frustrated to quitting just about a month later.
The second incident of unwelcome sexual conduct occurred on January 10, 2023 when on a ride back to the office from a meeting with a client.
After a client meeting, the CEO pressed the woman on why she had been so quiet during the meeting, remarking that her limited participation could lead clients to infer that she was his “side chick,” rather than a professional colleague.
The court heard that Limoke also offered to drop her off as he headed home. She accepted his offer. On the ride home, he pressed further on why she was making “many avoidable mistakes” at work.
The CEO insisted that there was more to it than just anxiety and stated, quite uncharacteristically, that she was free to tell him whatever the matter was without fear or worry of it coming between her work.
The woman said: “He asked to demonstrate how free I was to discuss any matter with him and suddenly grabbed me by the back of my head and kissed me without my consent. He then stated, ‘There, now tell me what’s on your mind, without fear.”
According to the lady, that same night, he disclosed that the company had refrained from hiring a Finance Manager because he considered her a high-potential employee.
Distressed, she confided in a colleague and disclosed to her the events of the night, worried that the CEO’s unprovoked advances might impact her work.
The following day, she went to work and, at around 8:28pm, her boss sent her a TikTok video of a vulgar ohangla dance that was covert with sexual innuendo.
The harassment escalated on January 14, 2023, after a client meeting at the office. Plans were made for a night out for drinks with the client at the Orchid Club at the RFUEA grounds on Ngong Road.
The woman joined the CEO with the client in his car, and they set off for the club’s grounds. They were later joined by other colleagues with whom they reveled the night away.
At around 2:30am, she sought to leave and share a cab with a colleague. She requested her boss to let her pick up her bag from his vehicle.
“The CEO escorted me and, as l was picking up my bag from his vehicle, he came up behind me, groped my breasts and forcefully removed my pants and raped me,” she testified.
A colleague escorted her to St. Peter’s Hospital, but she was not attended to immediately as she was first required to report the matter to the police station and have a P3 form.
Overcome with distress, she hesitated to record a police statement. She later sought medical treatment at Coptic Hospital.
See you on Friday
The woman testified that she was the sole provider for her siblings and parents, adding immense pressure to endure the trauma while balancing fears of losing her job in a tough economy.
She added that after the night incident, the CEO had left several unanswered messages on her WhatsApp, and after they went unresponded to for awhile, he called her.
In the phone conversation, he asked whether anything was going on and stated that he was worried about her.
She asserted that she informed Limoke that she was still recovering from the previous night’s events.
He sought to go over the events of the previous night and she cut him short and told him that they would proceed as if nothing had happened.
According to the lady, she gave this response since she was not in a mentally or emotionally stable position to unpack all that had happened.
“He then asked why my mind had been willing, yet my body was sending a different message,” the court heard.
She resumed work, albeit with much difficulty, as her mental, emotional, and psychological well-being were greatly affected.
Her work relationship with the CEO was tense and uncomfortable. She decided to seek help from counsellors at Usikimye to help her cope, gaining the courage to confront her abuser formally.
After the assault, the CEO continued his harassment through WhatsApp messages. On January 19, 2023, he sent her yet another set of work-unrelated memes.
Further, on February 3, 2023, he sent a text claiming she had left her lipstick in his vehicle, taunting her over what he called a “one-night stand” and questioning his sexual performance and why she had ghosted him.
She informed him that she had not lost any lipstick in his vehicle and that they had agreed to move on with life as if nothing had happened.
Again, on February 22, he commented unprofessionally when she reported late from hospital visits: “kama umenimiss sema tu,” sending cab fare with instructions to rest.
The woman described these interactions as beyond standard professional conduct, reflecting an environment dictated by the CEO’s “sexual and arbitrary instincts.”
On March 28, 2023, the woman emailed a formal complaint to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the Human Resource Director (HR Director) identified in court documents as Ms Samba, who is also Limoke’s wife.
Moments after sending the email, the HR Director and CEO were observed conversing outside the office before she was summoned.
She testified that the HR Director appeared anxious and infuriated, and she feared physical violence.
She was removed from the company’s communication channels, WhatsApp groups, email, and Slack, and placed on compulsory paid leave for 28 days while investigations were promised.
In subsequent correspondence, she sought assurances about conflict of interest, noting the HR Director’s marital relationship with the CEO.
Despite sending her documentary evidence and witness list, she later received a notification that legal representation from Munyao-Kayugira & Co. Advocates would not be allowed during the investigation, contradicting prior assurances.
On March 31 and April 12, she received a letter and emails instructing her to return to work abruptly on April 14, 2023, causing further distress.
“The letter did not give a reasonable allowance for her to reorganize and go back to work. It just plainly stated that “we expect to see you on Friday, of April 14, at 9am,” she stated.
It further placed worry in her, given the manner in which the investigation had been conducted.
She further averred that despite the change in supervision shared in the recall to work letter, this was not assuring, given the relationship between Samba and the CEO, who were spouses.
She also discovered a LinkedIn advertisement for a replacement Finance and Operations Manager, reinforcing her belief of a deliberate plan to force her out.
Unable to withstand the company’s treatment, she resigned on May 5, 2023. The tech company filed a counterclaim, alleging that she had resigned without proper notice, causing economic loss, and demanding Sh6 million in damages.
“The respondents pray for judgment against the claimant with costs, seeking Sh120,000 for resigning without notice, Sh6 million for loss and disruption of business, and Sh500,000 for legal and administrative expenses incurred during the investigations,” their pleadings read.
Limoke claimed she had leveled false allegations causing “immeasurable anguish and pain,” tarnishing his and the company’s reputation.
The woman countered, insisting her claims were based on factual events and evidence, not falsehoods.
She argued that the recall and investigation process offered no assurance of a safe work environment, necessitating her resignation.
Gender based violence
Three colleagues testified in support of her case. One, CW2, confirmed that the CEO had inappropriately touched her thigh after a meeting, commenting on her appearance.
CW2 further testified to escorting her to St Peter’s Hospital after the assault at Orchid Club and recounted the claimant’s fear of reporting the incident to police for fear of losing her job.
The tech company called witnesses, including the CEO, the lead investigator, and HR Director Samba, but the court found their accounts insufficient to refute the claimant’s evidence.
Justice Rutto ruled that the WhatsApp messages, explicit video, and testimony clearly demonstrated sexual harassment and workplace abuse.
The judge also noted the timing of the woman’s medical visit, the CEO’s incriminating messages, and the persistent harassment post-incident.
“The text messages sent by the first respondent to the claimant… constitute sexual harassment,” Rutto affirmed.
In his testimony, the CEO defended his conduct by saying that, as a line manager and “a human being,” he preferred to keep communications informal, fun, and laced with jokes, innuendos, and current slang.
But the judge observed that regardless of his personality or communication style, he was bound to uphold professional boundaries.
The court dismissed the CEO’s claim that his “one-night stand” text was merely a joke meant to break the ice.
Justice Rutto posed: “Why would the CEO use that kind of language just to humour the claimant and break the ice if indeed there was no sexual encounter between them? Indeed, there are many words and phrases in the English language that CEO could have used if his intention was just for humour and breaking the ice, as he puts it. Certainly, using the term ‘one night stand’ followed by ‘was it that bad’ is not the appropriate language to employ in humouring and breaking the ice with a junior colleague.”
According to the judge, Limoke’s defence did not hold, arguing humour and banter should never extend to sharing sexually explicit material or texts with a junior colleague, stressing that such behaviour was wholly unacceptable in the workplace.
“It thus follows that the CEO was required by law to ensure that the workplace was free of sexual harassment and gender-based violence. In the same breath, the claimant was protected under the law from any form of sexual harassment and gender-based violence,” Rutto stated.
The judge cited that under the Employment Act and the ILO Convention No.190, an employer is legally bound to take deliberate steps to prevent sexual harassment and to respond effectively whenever such a complaint is raised in the workplace.
She stressed that failure to act not only undermines the rights of employees but also entrenches a culture of silence and impunity.
In her judgment, Justice Rutto questioned the CEO’s defence of consent, pointing to the claimant’s immediate actions after the night at Orchid Club.
“In light of the actions taken by the claimant following the events of the morning of January 14, 2023, it is highly probable that the sexual encounter was not consensual. If at all the sexual encounter was consensual, why would the claimant proceed to the hospital immediately thereafter, have a post-rape care form filled out, and then undergo counseling sessions?” the judge observed.
She added: “No doubt, the actions of the CEO against the claimant depict the worst form of gender-based violence at the workplace.”
The judge found that the claimant had proved her case, noting: “The court is satisfied that in this case, the claimant has proved on a balance of probabilities that the first respondent sexually assaulted her, contrary to the provisions of Section 6(1) of the Employment Act and ILO Convention No.190.”
The court awarded the claimant a total compensation of Sh1.3 million, rejecting the company’s counterclaims and noting that the claimant’s resignation was a reasonable response to a hostile work environment.
“The claimant is awarded the sum of Sh120,000.00 being one month’s salary in lieu of notice. The claimant is further awarded the sum of Sh1,200,000.00 being compensatory damages,” the judge ordered.