Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court has ordered Oscar Limoke, CEO of Pawa IT Solutions Limited, a Nairobi-based firm that helps African businesses move their systems to Google Cloud and Microsoft 365, to pay KES 1.32 million (about $10,000) to a former employee after ruling that she was forced to resign due to sexual harassment and assault.
The judgment shows how a small but visible tech firm failed to protect its staff from abuse, reinforcing how Kenyan courts assess workplace misconduct and recognise emotional and sexual harm as valid grounds for “constructive dismissal.”
Delivered on September 19, 2025, by Justice S.C. Rutto, the ruling found that Pawa IT, which has fewer than 20 permanent employees, was responsible for the hostile environment created by its chief executive. The court awarded the former employee, identified as RAO, KES 120,000 ($912) as notice pay and KES 1.2 million ($9,120) as compensation, with interest accruing until full payment.
Limoke has since deleted his digital presence, removing his LinkedIn profile and leaving little trace of his professional activity online.
According to court documents, RAO resigned in May 2023, citing sexual harassment, assault, and management’s failure to act on her complaint. She also referenced proposed salary cuts as further evidence of a toxic workplace. The court ruled that Limoke’s conduct, which included sending inappropriate messages and a vulgar TikTok video link to his subordinate, violated Section 6(1) of the Employment Act.
The Act defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual request, comment, message, or behaviour by an employer or co-worker that creates a hostile/offensive work environment.
Limoke and Pawa IT denied wrongdoing, insisting that the resignation was voluntary. They countered with a KES 6.6 million ($50,300) claim, citing business losses and legal expenses. Justice Rutto dismissed the counterclaim, ruling that the employee was justified in resigning without notice.
The case turned on the question of constructive dismissal, where an employee quits because conditions have become intolerable. Justice Rutto ruled that Limoke’s behaviour, alongside the company’s failure to address it, met this standard. The judge rejected the CEO’s defence that his conduct was part of an “informal, fun” workplace culture that relied on jokes and innuendo.
“By all means, making fun and using joke innuendos should not have included sharing sexually explicit material and texts with the Claimant, who was his junior colleague and direct report,” the judgment read. “ That was conduct that was simply not acceptable in the workplace.”
The court also examined an alleged sexual encounter on January 14, 2023, which Limoke claimed was consensual. The judge cited the claimant’s immediate hospital visit and post-rape care form as strong evidence that it was not.
“In light of the actions taken by the Claimant following the events of the morning of 14th January 2023, it is highly probable that the sexual encounter was not consensual,” Rutto said.” If at all the sexual encounter was consensual, why would the Claimant proceed to the hospital, immediately thereafter and have a post-rape care form led out, then undergo counseling sessions?”
The ruling also criticised Pawa IT’s internal investigation, finding that the HR director—also the CEO’s spouse— had interfered with witness statements, undermining the credibility of the process. This conflict, alongside Limoke’s authority as co-founder, director, and shareholder, left the claimant without a fair path to resolution.
The court ordered Pawa IT and Limoke to pay the costs of both the claim and the counterclaim.
Mark your calendars! Moonshot by is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Meet and learn from Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Get your tickets now: moonshot..com
