Mediation flops in K336 million sexual abuse case

High Court Judge Mike Tembo has terminated mediation in a case where 76 women are demanding K336 million from Sable Farming Company Limited in Blantyre for alleged sexual harassment.

The women dragged the company to court after, in the course of their service as seasonal workers, they were instructed to remove their clothes, spread their legs and have their private parts forcibly touched.

The parties settled for mediation whose hearing was conducted on October 18 2023, but they failed to agree, forcing the court to terminate the process.

Following the development, according to a certificate of termination of mediation, the court directed that the civil cause number 127 of 2023 filed at the High Court in Blantyre must continue to full trial before another judge.

Reads the certificate: “The matter having been called for mediation, and upon hearing both parties herein, it is hereby ordered that the mediation herein be and is hereby terminated and that the matter shall proceed to trial before another judge.”

In the matter, Sable Farming Company Limited is being represented by lawyers from Winlaw & Ndau but, in an interview last Tuesday, one of the partners Bernard Ndau declined to comment on the matter, saying they had instructions from their client not to grant any interview to the press.

But Chancy Gondwe, one of the lawyers representing the complainants, confirmed that the parties failed to agree during mediation as regards the claim for compensation. 

He said: “So, since the parties have failed to agree at mediation level, we filed a notice of scheduling conference for the matter to be scheduled for trial… However, the room is still open for negotiations with the other party because the fact that mediation was terminated does not prevent us from still resolving the issues through further negotiations.”

Gondwe alleged the conduct was not supposed to happen as it is tantamount to sexual harassment.

“This is a sad story. Companies are supposed to be decent in the manner they handle their employees. It is time companies became serious in providing safe, healthy and a conducive working environment for their employees, especially women, because they exposed our clients to some risks as they discharged their duties.

“It is also time companies developed and implemented appropriate policies that are aimed at eliminating sexual harassment at workplaces,” he said.

According to the amended statement of the case Weekend Nation has seen, the 76 women sued the company for damages for sexual harassment, breach of employer’s statutory duty and aggravated and punitive damages for breach of employer’s statutory duty.

The statement states that on or around June 22 2023 in the course of their seasonal work, two employees of the company, namely Patricia Yuba and Elizabeth Banda, found blood stains on a woman’s work suit left in the bathroom as it was customary for employees to bathe before returning to the factory to work.

The court documents say the two female employees were then directed to summon the seasonal female workers whom they forced to undress to find who was menstruating and stained the work suit.

The two female employees found that four seasonal workers were menstruating and they told them to go home and return after their period is over.

According to the documents, the exercise was repeated on the day and the next as per management’s directive.

The women argue that their lack of consent amounted to sexual harassment and as a result, they suffered injury, loss and damage.

Therefore, the women are claiming K336 million as damages for breach of employer’s duty under the Occupational Safety Health and Welfare Act, and the Gender Equality Act, aggravated and punitive damages for breach of employer’s duty under Occupational Safety Health and Welfare Act and damages for sexual harassment.

Out of the K336 million, K147 million is for damages for sexual harassment, K84 million for aggravated and punitive damages for breach of employer’s duty under Section 13 of the Occupational Safety Health and welfare Act and Common Law while K42 million is for damages for breach of employer’s duty under Section 7 of the Gender Equality Act.

The final K63 million which the women are claiming is for breach of employer’s duty under Section 13 of the Occupational Safety Health and Welfare Act and Common Law.

Sable Farming Company Limited is a subsidiary company of Global Tea & Commodities that specialises in the production of macadamia nuts.