The programme included detailed testimonies of sexual exploitation by workers, as well as undercover footage implicating Chebochok as a key perpetrator.
Newly elected Director of Toror Tea Factory, John Chebochok, has threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), demanding Ksh100 million in defamation charges for putting him at the centre of its undercover investigative feature under the BBC Africa Eye segment which exposed claims of widespread sexual abuse affecting tea farms in Kenya.
Chebochok and other managers were filmed by BBC’s Africa Eye and Panorama programmes in February 2023, exploiting female workers in exchange for contract extensions and better working conditions.
The programme included detailed testimonies of sexual exploitation by workers, as well as undercover footage implicating Chebochok as a key perpetrator.
Through his lawyer, Danstan Omari, Chebochok on Thursday, July 4 claimed that the allegations from the documentary were outrageous and a well-calculated scheme merely meant to taint his reputation.
Lawyer Danstan Omari outside a courtroom during a past media briefing. /FILE
He also claimed that the allegations were crafted by his competitors both in politics as well as the tea sector who allegedly sought to buy out UK-based Finlays from the factory.
“Politicians who are against our client’s political bid appeared to have been angered that he implemented mechanization at Finlay and as a result, some of their voters lost jobs and the said competitors fought the said process unsuccessfully,” the letter read in part.
He also questioned why the documentary was aired without his input. It went viral when it was first published and currently has more than 2.8 million views on YouTube.
Chebochok also pointed out that no alleged victim in the video made a complaint to the police or any investigating authority.
“The malicious broadcast of your documentary has caused our client significant emotional, psychological and unwarranted distress and stigma. Several entities have since used your documentary to recklessly tarnish our client’s name,” he said through Omari.
“They intend to use the contents of the documentary to subvert the will of the people to democratically elect him from amongst a group of other contestants.”
Chebochok is therefore demanding that BBC release a full publication of an apology and retract the said documentary from their channel, and for the media house to desist from publishing any further defamatory statements or documentaries about Chebochok.
“Take notice that should you fail to make good the demands of our client within the next 3 working days, we have instructions to seek other legal remedies to protect the image of our client, including but not limited to instituting a suit against you at your cost,” Omari added.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has refuted claims that it facilitated Chebochok’s election as the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) regional director in the Ainamoi Tea Zone.
“In the present case, Mr John Chebochok presented a valid certificate of good conduct, and therefore, qualified as a person of good standing in terms of the provisions of the Articles of Association of Tegat/Toror Tea Factory Company,” the electoral body’s Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan stated in part, adding that this nullified any grounds for his disqualification by the commission.
He further emphasized that the IEBC upheld neutrality and transparency as mandated by the Constitution.
“In conducting the election, the appointed Returning Officer remained impartial, neutral, and transparent in keeping with the prescription of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Manual for Election of Directors of June 2024, Articles of Association of Tegat/Toror Tea Factory Company, and the applicable legal instruments as decreed by the Court,” he added.