Portland Cement CEO entangled in sexual harassment legal suit

East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) chief executive Simon Peter ole Nkeri is embroiled in a sexual misconduct legal tussle with a top executive at the listed cement firm.

Lucy Rimanto Molonket, the head of sales and marketing, has accused Mr Nkeri of harassment and sexual assault.

Through lawyer Tom Ojienda, Ms Molonket claimed that Mr Nkeri sexually assaulted her at her office at around mid-day on August 31. She told the court that the EAPCC chief executive acknowledged the assault through an SMS apology sent on same day at 10pm.

The accusations against Mr Nkeri come barely four months after he was appointed chief executive of the loss-making cement firm, replacing Kephar Tande, who was serving his last term.

She reckons the sexual misconduct saga prompted her transfer on September 30 to a low profile job as head of special projects.

EAPCC chairman William Lay defended the CEO against the sexual assault claims, arguing that Ms Molonket was moved in a re-organisation of the firm’s executive suite.

Mr Lay said 11 managers were transferred and that she should have complained to the board. Ms Molonket says the harassment case was reported to a board member, Julius Korir, who had the matter discussed on September 21.

Justice Nelson Abuodha Wednesday stopped her transfer and directed Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed and others listed as interested parties in the case to respond to the suit in 14 days. The case will be mentioned on January 23.