A few weeks ago, we reported that Facebook is being sued in Kenya by a former employee citing poor working conditions.
The multinational now wants the case dropped, arguing that Kenyan courts don’t have jurisdiction to hear and determine it. According to the application filed by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, the firm isn’t domiciled or trading in Kenya, thus the Kenyan High court has no jurisdiction over them. The case incorporates Meta Platforms, Inc. and Meta Platforms Ireland.
“The Second and Third Respondents (Meta Platforms Inc and Meta Platforms Ireland) are foreign corporations who are neither resident, domiciled nor trading in Kenya and accordingly this Honorable Court has no jurisdiction over them,” said Kaplan & Stratton senior counsel Fred Ojiambo, representing Meta.
This case is now set for hearing on June 27, and it has to be determined before the previous one carries on.
In the previous case, South African national Daniel Motaung sued the company and Sama, a Kenyan subcontracting company running Facebook’s content moderation in Africa.
According to Motaung, the company exposed its employees to poor working conditions, low pay and exposure to graphic content. Mataung, who is represented in the case by Nzuli and Nsumbi advocates claimed that the company’s terms of work amounted to a “toxic work environment” denying them a right to unionize or disclose the conditions under which they worked.
Facebook moderators are sourced from countries that include Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and others. They work from a hub located in Nairobi under their subcontractor, Sama, an outsourcing company.
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