This archive report was first published on 1 November 2019.
On November 1, 2019, SportPesa, a leading betting firm in Kenya, announced that it would recall its sacked employees to issue new termination notices. The move has sparked hopes of possible job reinstatement among the affected staff.
The employees, who were laid off in October 2019, were expected to report to the company's head office in Nairobi on Friday. However, instead of receiving new job offers, they would be handed redundancy notices.
According to an email sent by the company's head of human resource, Terry Wanja Njagi, the employees were advised to report to Chancery Building on Valley Road to withdraw the termination notices issued to them on October 2, 2019. After the withdrawal, they would be informed of the 'next step'.
When contacted by the Nation, SportPesa's CEO, Ronald Karauri, declined to comment on the matter. However, in a previous statement, the company had expressed optimism that it would get back its operating license, which was withdrawn in July 2019 due to alleged tax arrears of Sh14 billion.
The company had halted operations in Kenya in October 2019, citing 'tough regulations' and higher taxation. Before its closure, SportPesa had been out of business for nearly three months after the government suspended its pay bill numbers.
