The Ministry of Labour says it has established that an Indian national, who is on the run, sexually abused male employees at Bakelines Limited in Lilongwe.
Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule visited the company today after two young men complained that they were sexually abused on several occasions by their male Indian boss.
Social media activists Idriss Ali Nassah posted on his Facebook page yesterday about the abuse, saying the young men complained that their boss used to lock them in a small room at the company premises where he would then rape them.
“The terrified boys say they were threatened with death or disappearance should they tell anyone of this horrific abuse,” wrote Nassah.
He added that the boys on January 24, gathered the courage to go first to Area 30 Police Station, then to Kanengo Police Station where a police report was taken and they were referred to a hospital.
“Medical examination showed that indeed the young man had been sodomized. I have the medical reports and they make for depressing reading,” said Nassah.
Kamtukule today visited the company and the Ministry of Labour in a statement on its Facebook has said it has established that the young men in question were indeed abused and violated by their senior at Bakelines.
The ministry has since requested for the revocation of the Temporary Employment Permit of the suspect
It has also directed Bakelines management to install CCTV cameras in the factory especially around the place where abuse was happening and where abuse can happen within 7 days as well as enhance lighting of the said areas.
Bakelines has also been ordered to reinstate the boys and pay them their two weeks pay in full and to develop a violence and harassment policy which should be translated to Chichewa and pasted on the walls of the factory.
Meanwhile, a warrant of arrest for the suspect and perpetrator of the abuses has been issued nationwide and Police and Immigration services are expected to intensify manhunt for suspect
However, there are concerns over the way Police are handling the case because, according to the activist, Nassah, they have not taken action to arrest the suspect.
“This week, he was said to be hiding out at a house in Area 10, Lilongwe. Police were told but the house was not raided. You’d forgiven to think that the police are giving this Indian national a chance to escape to Patiala, in Punjab, where he comes from,” said Nassah.
