Current and past Kenyan workers at the British Council-Kenya who claimed to have been victims of racism will not cooperate with the investigations.
They allege that they were targeted unfairly in a systemic display of impunity by privileged senior managers of the cultural relations organisation.
They claim that the British Council wants to engage in a PR exercise because they want to select the type of cases to be investigated and the type of evidence to be provided.
“So we told them they either investigate all or none. Also, we have evidence such as audio recordings but they say that will not be considered as evidence,” an email sent to a Nation reporter said.
Nation.Africa has seen a long email exchange between the affected staff, the British Council human resources department and the appointed investigator. The exchange began in August and the complainants and the HR office seem not to agree on the way the investigations should be carried out.
“You informed us that the external investigator would independently investigate all our concerns and asked that any further concerns (be) held and shared with the independent and external investigator…. to ensure the independence both you and we seek,” the complainants said.
“However, since you have insisted (on) your desire to manage evidence and select the type of cases to be investigated, we regret to inform you that we have lost faith in this process and we shall be seeking alternative means to share our pain and seek justice.”
On the other hand, the British Council says it has investigated the matter.
“We are keeping avenues of engagement open with the author of the letter. The author of the letter has not been willing to be interviewed and has not yet provided evidence in support of the allegations,” the agency said on Tuesday.
Policies are unfair
The organisation insists on following its own policies to investigate the complaints.
“Our view is that for transparency and clarity the investigation must be within the relevant policies which apply to all current British Council employees, as well as our senior management team who will be reviewing the findings of the investigation,” it said.
“We do not accept that these policies are unfair as they have been subject to consultation and equality screening and impact assessment.”
But the accusers fired back, writing: “While we appreciate your defence of the British Council policies, we reiterate that those policies are unresponsive, and they do not deter acts of impunity by some privileged members of British Council management.”
They went on: “We are disappointed that you continue to show insensitivity to our plight, distress and pain caused by uncaring members of the British Council.
“The British Council is aware and is free to cross-check the circumstances and cases that were the subject of the letter we wrote to the Government of Kenya after the failure of the British Council to address our concerns satisfactorily under the same policy you continue to defend.”
The agency responded: “I would like to confirm that while the external investigator was selected by the British Council and the process is being overseen by the British Council to ensure the investigator has access to relevant individuals, we do not agree that her independence is compromised in any way.
“This is an independent investigation, commissioned by our Speak Up committee, who will review the final report and recommendations, and decide what changes to policies and processes, if any, can be implemented immediately or in future.”
Diversity and inclusion
On Tuesday, a British Council spokesperson said the agency and Kenyan authorities had received an anonymous letter in July 2021 and it responded by initiating an investigation in August 2021.
“The British Council takes all allegations of discrimination, racism, bullying and harassment very seriously. We operate in over 100 countries across the world and our values of equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do,” the spokesman said.
The response came a day after the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom published a story saying that seven Kenyans had written the letter with claims of racism.
The Guardian story said the British Council started investigating claims in the letter that senior white executives had predominantly discriminated against the accusers as they were selected and assessed for redundancy.
The British Council says the investigator has outlined the scope of the inquiry to the author of the letter and requested their engagement and availability for an interview.
“They have not had any cooperation from the author. The author of the letter has not wanted to engage with us and so far, has not provided evidence to support their allegations. The British Council is still exploring every avenue of communication with them,” the spokesman said.
“We have robust internal mechanisms for addressing concerns and grievances on discrimination, racism, bullying and harassment. We are and have always been proud to be an equal opportunity employer. 98 percent of staff in the Kenya office are locally appointed.”
The Guardian reported that five of the seven accusers claim they were discriminated against during a redundancy process that they say favoured white colleagues. The allegations come amid cuts in central government funding for the British Council and a shortfall in income related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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