Former Flutterwave Worker Loses $900K Appeal

Clara Wanjiku Odero, a Kenyan tech founder and CEO of Softbank-backed Credrails, has misplaced her attraction in opposition to Pan African fintech Flutterwave.

• Odero, a former worker of Flutterwave, had initially sought $900,000 in damages, claiming emotional misery and reputational injury after the fintech firm didn’t take away her contact particulars from its M-Pesa Paybill account following her departure in 2018.
• In consequence, clients continued to contact her concerning company-related points lengthy after she had left her function as Head of Implementation for Remainder of Africa at Flutterwave.

The Court docket of Appeal, nevertheless, upheld the decrease courtroom’s resolution, awarding Odero solely Ksh. 100,000 for emotional misery and Ksh. 150,000 as aggravated damages— a complete of Ksh. 250,000 (roughly $2,500), removed from the $900,000 she had requested.

“The award in damages was capped at Ksh. 250,000 by the Justice of the Peace. I don’t discover motive to disturb his discovering contemplating that there was no proof of lack of fame. The sum was cheap.” Famous Justice Alexander Muasya in his ruling on Friday twenty seventh September 2024.

Odero’s preliminary go well with arose from Flutterwave’s alleged negligence in failing to take away her identify from the corporate’s pay invoice contact checklist after her resignation. This led to a sequence of inquiries from the fintech’s clients which she claimed precipitated her public embarrassment, emotional misery, and reputational injury. Nevertheless, the choose dominated that she was unable to offer medical or unbiased proof supporting her claims. In response, the courtroom decided that there was no causal hyperlink between Flutterwave’s negligence and any reputational hurt.

Flutterwave, thought of Africa’s most respected fintech with a valuation exceeding $3 billion, had expressed remorse over the delay in updating Odero’s contact particulars and had supplied to settle the matter amicably.

The corporate denied Odero’s accusations, together with claims of bullying by CEO Olugbenga Agboola, stating: “As a company that repeatedly strives to create an setting the place workers really feel safe and protected, we take the current allegations of bullying from a former worker very critically. We categorically state that there is no such thing as a place for bullying or harassment of any type in our office.”

Finally, the appellate courtroom discovered no grounds to overturn the decrease courtroom’s ruling, stating that the damages awarded have been enough for the emotional misery attributable to the mix-up. The courtroom dismissed Odero’s attraction and awarded Flutterwave the prices of the attraction.

Case Reference: Clara Wanjiku Odero -Vs- Flutterwave Funds Applied sciences Restricted, Civil Appeal No. HCCA E197 of 2020.