ICYMI: Former Flutterwave employee loses $900k lawsuit against firm

A court of appeal in Kenya has ruled in favour of Flutterwave, a payment technology company, in suit filed by Clara Odero, a former employee of the firm.

According to Kenyan Wall Street, Odero, who is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Softbank-backed Credrails, had sought $900,000 in damages.

In the suit, she claimed that the company’s negligence and failure to remove her contact details from its M-Pesa paybill account following her departure in 2018, caused her emotional distress.

The ex-employee said after she left her role as the head of implementation for Rest of Africa at Flutterwave, customers continued to contact her regarding company-related issues.

Odero also accused Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, of bullying and harassment during her time at the company, which led her to quit the job.

In his ruling on September 27, 2024, Alexander Muasya, the court of appeal judge, noted that the original award was appropriate.

“The award in damages was capped at Ksh. 250,000 by the Magistrate. I do not find reason to disturb his finding considering that there was no proof of loss of reputation. The sum was reasonable,” the court ruled.

Muasya said Odero’s inability to provide supporting medical or independent evidence to lay her claims, led the court to conclude that there was no causal link between Flutterwave’s negligence and any harm to her reputation.

The court upheld the lower court’s decision, awarding Odero only Ksh. 100,000 ($768.895) for emotional distress and Ksh. 150,000 ($1,153.34) as aggravated damages — a total of Ksh. 250,000 (approximately $1,922.2), less than the $900,000 she had requested.

Responding to the accusations in a statement, Flutterwave acknowledged a delay in updating Odero’s contact details and apologised for it and proposed to settle the matter amicably without further litigation.

“As an organisation that continuously strives to create an environment where employees feel secure and safe, we take the recent allegations of bullying from a former employee very seriously,” the company said.

“We categorically state that there is no place for bullying or harassment of any kind in our workplace.”

In 2022, a Kenyan high court froze the sum of $3.3 million belonging to Flutterwave over allegations of card fraud and money laundering.

This came almost two months after a similar court order to freeze Sh6.2 billion ($59.2 million) was issued on 62 bank accounts belonging to Flutterwave and other firms.

On June 24, Flutterwave laid off 24 workers, representing 3 percent of its workforce.