Technology workers in Kenya have held a vigil for a colleague who died in unclear circumstances after she was unable to travel to her home in Nigeria for two years.
Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a content moderator for TikTok employed by the subcontractor Teleperformance Kenya, died last week and her decomposing body was discovered in her house after three days.
It was unclear what caused her death, but colleagues say she had complained of fatigue and was “desperate to go back home.”
Teleperformance Kenya told the Associated Press on Wednesday that they didn’t deny Olubunmi her leave to go home. Her family in Nigeria says she only traveled once since coming to Kenya three years ago.
Content moderators working for subcontracted firms based in Kenya have in the past described working conditions that they say include lower than average pay, lack of mental health support, long working hours and intimidation.
More than 100 former Facebook content moderators have sued the social media company over what they say is poor pay, horrible working conditions and unfair termination of employment by Facebook’s subcontracted Kenya-based firm, Samasource.
Dozens of content moderators and data labelers working for various global tech companies met during Tuesday’s vigil and said that poor working conditions may have contributed to their colleague’s death.
“There are more than 100 Nigerians working under Teleperformance company who haven’t had work permits for the last two years and so they have not been able to travel home despite having an annual return ticket benefit,” said Kauna Malgwi, a friend of the deceased.
Olubunmi’s family was informed of her death a day after her body was discovered by a neighbor.
Teleperformance emailed Olubunmi’s brother notifying him of her death and gave him contacts of Kenyan investigating officers who he could call for information, autopsy and burial arrangements.
“The family cannot afford to take her body home, so they are considering asking her church in Nairobi to bury her,” Malgwi said.
—Evelyne Musambi, Associated Press
Login to add comment
Other posts in this group
For a few days, my finger would hover over the TikTok hole on my home screen. But
How far would you travel in search of a sweet treat?
“Bakery tourism” is on the rise, with more and more people traveling—sometimes across the globe—in search of the perfect flaky croiss
More than half of Americans now use a chatbot, with an increasing number of people replacing search engines w
“Girl With a Pearl Earring” has taken on a new meaning on social media.
Perched on a dusty high desert plain about 100 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, the Mojave Air and Space Port looks more like a final destination for aerospace experiments than a stepping ston
