Unfairly Dismissed Employee at MaishaMart Supermarket Narrates Tearful Experience of Abrupt Termination After Bereavement Leave

Employees at MaishaMart Supermarket and Wholesale in Kakamega County are reporting renewed concerns over workplace treatment and employment security, coming months after earlier accounts from staff who described long working hours, disputed salary deductions, restricted access to payslips, and an internal grievance process they said did not resolve their complaints.

The latest account involves a staff member who says she was removed from employment following a period of absence linked to a family bereavement, during which she travelled away from her station to organise burial arrangements after receiving news of a sibling’s death while on duty.

She states that although she informed management and sought permission to be away, her return to work was met with questions over her absence, claims that she had already been replaced, and instructions to leave the premises without issuance of formal termination documents or a written explanation of the decision.

The matter now sits within a wider pattern of employee grievances previously raised within the same outlet, where staff have described difficulties in obtaining clear responses from management and reliance on external recruitment channels that mediate hiring and exit processes.

The employee recounts a sequence that begins with the notification of a family death, continues through delayed permission to travel, completion of burial arrangements over several weeks, and eventual reporting back to work where her continued employment was immediately questioned.

She further states that discussions held with management and a linked recruitment agency touched on settlement of leave days and contractual entitlements, before she was ultimately directed to vacate the workplace.

She adds that requests for formal records confirming termination or outlining her employment status were not granted, leaving the circumstances of her exit undocumented from her perspective.

The employee provided the following narration of events from the initial bereavement notification through to the final instruction to leave the premises.

"Hello Cyprian. On 3rd April I received alarming information from my family while at work at Maisha Mart store located along Mumias Road early morning that one of my siblings had lost his life in a tragic accident. A carpenter who fell from a second floor while building in the Fedha area in Nairobi. I informed Maisha Mart management since I am the eldest sibling of four; the burden was on my shoulders. It took a while to be permitted even after explaining it fully to both HR and the overall manager of the company. I had explained to them that the incident could not be postponed and that I would return to work soon. In three weeks’ time, I had made funeral arrangements from Nairobi to Kakamega for burial and reported back to work on 30th April, where there was controversy on whether to retain me or not since it was believed I had already been replaced by a new staff member. The manager asked me to deliver all documents to prove my three-week absence from work due to the funeral. He was satisfied and allowed me to work, but later after 30 minutes I was called back into the director’s office where I found him with the manager and was dismissed on the claim that he had been told I was not coming back to work and that he had already signed another new staff member to take my place. I was given no chance to express myself again. No show-cause letter, no termination letter, just told to leave the premises. I went forward and met HR in his office together with the manager to explain, but they referred me to KLEENPROS AGENCY LTD, where Maisha Mart Ltd hires staff through an agent. I made a phone call to the agent and he at first asked me to stop disturbing him with such issues. He later called back after I texted him reminding him that he is my boss. He made an arrangement to pay me seven days leave left after I was now qualified for ten days leave in three years of work at Maisha Mart. I have begged for at least a show-cause letter, termination letter, or even a reference letter confirming that I worked with them. I had an ongoing contract, but they are now asking me to reapply for the job afresh. Help me please, I am just one among many."

Earlier complaints from employees had pointed to recurring workplace disputes involving long working hours, disputed salary deductions, and limited access to payslips.

Staff also reported difficulties engaging internal management structures to resolve grievances, with some describing a reliance on external recruitment channels that handled hiring and exit processes.

Those reports frame a broader pattern of dissatisfaction among workers, who now continue to question the clarity of employment terms and the consistency of disciplinary decisions within the outlet.