Has placed a case for the Court of Employment Kuda technologiesOne of the fastest growing African digital banks, under control over the claims for workplace discrimination, harassment and illegal dismissal. Rosemary Hewat, the former head of the Kuda people (CPO), filed a complaint accusing the company and chief executive Babatunde Ogundyi, for discrimination of sex, victimization and unfair dismissal.
According to the deposition, Hewat, who has played the highest role for almost three years, claims that the company forced it in April 2024 after prolonged abuse. It lodges the case to the UK’s employment court and TechCrunch examined the legal documents.
The complaint reveals internal clashes in Kuda, which provides digital banking services to millions of customers in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, also raises wider concerns about workplace culture, leadership accountability and gender equality in the African technology industry.
When he was reached for comments, Hewat refused to discuss the case, citing the ongoing legal procedures. Complete hearing is set for October.
“It is accurate that Rosemary Hewat, a former employee of Kuda Technologies Limited UK, has submitted a claim for the company’s employment court,” a Kuda spokesman said in response to TechCrunch.
“As this is currently a legal issue, we cannot provide additional information right now. According to our current policy and from respect for privacy, we do not comment on issues of this kind that include today’s or former employees.
Recruited in August 2021, Hewat manages the HR world by the Kuda office in the United Kingdom. According to the testimony, he saw and experienced discreet behavior that contradicts Kuda’s variety, equality and integration (Dei). He argues that CEO Ogundyi and other senior leaders deliberately undermined its role, promoting a misogyny and bullying culture.
For example, the deposit describes a company’s retreat in Lagos, Nigeria in December 2023. Hewat claims that Ogundyi publicly gave two female employees, according to the deposition. He was supposed to have called them “low class” and accused them of having no “quality or luxury”, leaving them in tears.
Hewat, according to the deposition, insists that this incident was part of a wider plan that made the Kuda workplace “intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive” and other women.
The complaint also describes how Ogundyi allegedly saw himself in Kuda. Hewat claims that he repeatedly told her that the employees regarded him as a “god” and was afraid to approach him.
Hewat says that its supreme administration has excluded its critical strategy discussions, according to the deposition. In January 2023, then Coo Pavel Khristolubov allegedly left her out of a senior administration meeting, although her team handled decisions on resources on the agenda.
When she questioned her exclusion, Ogundyi told her that the meeting was about the product strategy, making her presence unnecessary. Shortly afterwards, her team was pressured to implement decisions from the meeting itself.
Afterwards, Khristolubov allegedly bypassing Hewat’s power, employees directly with members of her team, the report said. When he raised concerns with Ogundyi and CTO Mutairu Mustapha, Ogundyi rejected them.
In a performance review, Ogundyi allegedly told her to “spend the next six months take Pavel to like you”. Hewat argues in the deposition that this is further exacerbating the toxic work environment and prevented its ability from performing its role.
By October 2023, Hewat officially proposed a revision of internal systems to tackle its problems with Khristolubov. Instead of dealing with her concerns, Ogundyi allegedly threatened her with dismissal.
Shares difference
At the heart of Hewat’s complaint is a unresolved dispute over the Employee’s Employee Optional Rights (ESOP). When she joined Kuda, she claims that her company offered several hundred thousand ESOP shares to evaluate Series A. However, despite multiple requests, she never received official documentation.
Kuda eventually issued the ESOP subsidy in April 2022, but was based on the assembly of Series B, increasing the price of shares and reducing the value of its stock per deposit. He claims that he later discovered that the then CFO Steven Bastian had successfully negotiated to restore his shares to the price of the series a.
When Hewat raised concerns, Ogundyi allegedly rejected her request, saying that Bastian’s role was “more important” than hers.
In December 2023, Hewat officially recorded its concerns about shares (and pay inequalities), according to the deposit. He warned Kuda that failure to address the issue could be a sexual discrimination in accordance with the law of UK employment. In response, Ogundyi rejected her allegations, arguing that she had no contractual right to the shares of Series A.
“As a company we note that you have not provided any mail (emails, letters, etc.) to substantiate your allegations and assume that this is due to the fact that there is no evidence,” Ogundyi told it, according to the deposit. .
“The terms of your employment grant and choices are as exposed in writing.
Despite Ogundyi’s assurances that Kuda will investigate her complaint, no official investigation was carried out, according to the report. Hewat claims that Ogundyi rejected mediation and personally handled internal research on his own actions, eventually ruling in his favor. He argues that this has violated Kuda’s protest policy and the ACAS practice code to resolve work disputes.
Hewat claims that her attempt to resolve her concerns in January 2024 is alleged to worsen her relationship with her former boss. He claims to be pushing her to withdraw the complaint of the distinction, which she refused to do.
Sudden dismissal and retaliation
In February 2024, Kuda fired hewat Hewat in London, while traveling to Lagos for an Exco Executive Committee (Exco). She had just watched her sister’s memorial and was on a stay when Ogundyi insisted on a video call. Hewat claims to have shot her during this conversation despite his information on her circumstances,
Kuda allegedly banned Hewat from the retreat she had flown, which she saw as a deliberate attempt to humiliate her. When she later met Ogundyi in person, she mentioned the measures of economic instability and cutting Nigeria as reasons for her dismissal.
“I am making some serious changes, the change must definitely happen … A lot of personality conflicts and you are definitely in the thickness of it,” Ogundyi said. He also said: “In the United Kingdom, you are probably undervalued, but for Kuda, you are expensive … What does Rosie do to justify her salary? It’s mainly a fx thing.”
According to the deposition, Ogundyi claimed that its trigger is not linked to the denunciation of discrimination, the distributions of their or Khristolubov. However, Hewat claims to have still brought her relationship with Khristolubov. (Khristolubov finally left Kuda two months after Hewat in June 2024.)
Hewat claims that Kuda offered her the same terms of exit as Khristolubov, though she was a contractor while she was a full -time employee. She argues that Kuda shot her in retaliation for discrimination complaints in her workplace, noting that she was the only executive power in the United Kingdom.
Responding to a surplus requirement that Kuda later filed against her, she faced that the company was not competing financially, citing her ability to pay the nanny of Ogundyi’s children £ 55,000 a year, according to the deposit.
Hewat’s dismissal news spread quickly to Kuda, despite Ogundyi’s alleged assurances of confidentiality. When he sent him by email for the breach, he claims he ignored her.
Adding the confusion, CTO Mustapha allegedly admitted that its firing was a mistake, forced by members of the Board of Directors Ricardo Schaefer and Andrew John McCormack. She called her to return, but the discussions fell separately after Kuda denied her settlement demands and delayed responding to the “Access Access” request.
Instead, her company sent an official letter of consultation of surpluses, weeks after it was triggered, the deposition said. In the following months, Hewat claims that Kuda has further opposed reducing her salary, canceling her health insurance and withholding the full remuneration of her vacation.
Hewat, unable to toxic to the toxic environment, resigned in April 2024, citing constructive dismissal.
The former CPO’s legal deposition describes how Kuda’s actions left her in financial difficulties as the company refused to pay her unpaid salaries.
Hewat is now seeking compensation for unfair dismissal, gender discrimination, emotional discomfort and Kuda’s supposed failure to follow the proper protest processes in the workplace. It also requires a refund for unpaid holiday fees and medical expenses.
This case puts Kuda, which has increased significant business risk funding, including a $ 55 million B in 2021 series of investors such as Valar Ventures and Target Global, under consideration at a time when African companies are facing growing investors and regulatory pressure to improve governance and corporate accountability, It first caused a series of allegations of work behavior at Flutterwave, the most valuable start of Africa, in 2022.
With investors and the wider technological ecosystem that is closely monitoring, it could also have significant consequences for the company’s reputation and its ability to attract top talents in the future. As for Ogundyi and the leadership team, they may face increased control over the treatment of women employees.
It is an event that serves as a warning story for other technology companies where rapid growth can sometimes overshadow cracks in internal functions. The way Kuda handles this legal challenge could shape the future orbit of the company, both in terms of employee relationships and its position in the ecosystems of Nigeria and Fintech.
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