Fresh concerns arise over working conditions in the rapidly growing Kenyan tech sector following the death of a Nigerian content moderator, highlighting systemic issues of exploitation and neglect.
Kenya’s vibrant tech scene, often lauded as Africa’s Silicon Savannah, is once again under scrutiny, this time not for its innovations, but for the welfare of its workforce. The recent death of Ladi Anzaki Olubumni, a Nigerian national employed by French outsourcing giant Teleperformance in Nairobi, has ignited a firestorm of protest and reignited concerns over the treatment of tech workers, particularly those in the demanding and often psychologically taxing field of content moderation.
Olubumni, a TikTok content moderator, was found deceased in her Lower Kabete apartment last Friday, reportedly after her body had been decomposing for three days. Colleagues who discovered her absence after she failed to report for work are now staging a strike, accusing Teleperformance of neglecting their welfare and contributing to a climate of exploitation.
Their grievances are stark and resonate with previous allegations of mistreatment within Kenya’s rapidly expanding tech sector. Workers claim Teleperformance routinely deducts taxes and social security contributions from their salaries without remitting them to the relevant Kenyan authorities, leaving them unable to access crucial services like the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Furthermore, they allege that the company withholds vital documentation, including work permits, creating a precarious legal limbo for many foreign employees, predominantly from Nigeria.
Adding to the outrage, colleagues claim Olubumni had repeatedly requested leave to visit her home country and utilize her contractual entitlement to an annual return ticket. These requests, they say, were consistently denied. Disturbingly, there are accusations that management not only refused her requests but also mocked and filmed her distress when she pleaded for leave.
“She went to managers crying, but they were videoing her and laughing at her,” a colleague lamented in a message shared with local media. “She didn’t have a work permit, like most Nigerian workers, hence they denied her the chance to go home after so many attempts.”
When Olubumni failed to report for work on Wednesday, colleagues claim the company did not conduct a welfare check. It was only on Friday, after days of unanswered calls and messages, that concerned coworkers took it upon themselves to visit her apartment, only to discover her body. The company’s silence and apparent lack of proactive welfare checks have been met with anger and disbelief.
Teleperformance has reportedly instructed employees to refrain from discussing Olubumni’s death publicly, further fueling accusations of a cover-up and insensitivity. However, the workers are refusing to be silenced. They have been on strike since Friday, demanding action on their long-standing grievances. On Saturday, management reportedly told striking workers that if they were unwilling to work without immediate resolution of their work permit issues, they should resign and return to Nigeria — a statement that has only intensified tensions.
The circumstances surrounding Olubumni’s death remain unclear, and Teleperformance is yet to officially comment on the incident. However, this tragedy has thrown a harsh spotlight on the often-shadowed realities of Kenya’s tech boom. It echoes the case of Keith Makori, the Kotani Pay co-founder who died last year in what police ruled as suicide, shortly after his fintech startup had secured significant funding — a case that similarly hinted at the intense pressures and hidden vulnerabilities within the sector.
This latest incident also resonates deeply with the ongoing discourse around content moderation, a critical but often brutal component of the global AI industry. Mophat Okinyi, a Kenyan content moderator who was instrumental in the development of ChatGPT and recognised as one of TIME100 AI’s most influential people in AI, has confirmed the Teleperformance incident to Launch Base Africa. Okinyi, who himself suffered significant mental health consequences from his work, is a vocal advocate for better protections for content moderators.
“We’re doing a vigil in Nairobi for the deceased [today],” Okinyi told Launch Base Africa. He is among a group of Kenyan moderators who filed a petition last year calling for government investigation into exploitative conditions within the sector.
These moderators, many of whom worked for data annotation company Sama on projects for OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, allege they were subjected to psychological trauma, low pay (as little as $1.46 per hour), and abrupt contract terminations. They were tasked with labeling content for AI algorithms, including horrific examples of rape, child sexual abuse, and bestiality. While Sama claimed to have provided mental health support, moderators argued it was inadequate and failed to address the specific trauma of their work.
The petition, supported by legal NGO Foxglove, calls for new legislation to regulate the outsourcing of “harmful and dangerous technology work” in Kenya and for existing laws to recognise exposure to harmful content as an occupational hazard. They also seek to investigate the role of the Ministry of Labour in protecting Kenyan youth from exploitative outsourcing companies. The Kenyan Ministry of Labour declined to comment on the petition at the time it was filed and is yet to respond to the latest developments.
Beyond Kenya, the human cost of powering the AI boom is increasingly coming into focus. Data labeling, the often-hidden labour behind sophisticated AI models like ChatGPT, is a rapidly growing industry, projected to reach over $14 billion by 2030. Much of this work is outsourced to regions like East Africa, where economic precarity and high English proficiency create a pool of workers willing to perform demanding and often distressing tasks for relatively low wages.
The death of Ladi Anzaki Olubumni and the ongoing protests highlight a critical juncture for Kenya’s tech sector. While the country aspires to be a leading tech hub, these incidents expose a darker underbelly of potential exploitation and neglect of worker welfare. The push for regulation, the formation of content moderator unions, and landmark legal rulings recognising the responsibility of tech giants are all signs that the tide may be turning. However, the urgent need for systemic change and genuine protection for these essential workers remains starkly apparent.
Launch Base Africa has reached out to Teleperformance Kenya for comment but has not received a response as of publication time.