Reports have emerged implicating prominent retail chain Magunas Supermarket, known for its grassroots origins and expansive footprint across multiple counties, with accusations pointing to ethnically biased decision-making, questionable salary deductions and a blatant disregard for due process and labour regulations. Inside the growing claims of bias and labour violations at Magunas Supermarket
At the heart of the complaint is a former employee who claims to have been subjected to unjust financial penalties stemming from a clerical error originating in a different department.
According to the individual, a staff member in the credit note department allegedly issued an erroneous credit to a branch, resulting in a financial shortfall.
However, instead of conducting a fair and thorough investigation to determine the responsible party, management reportedly chose to recover the loss by deducting Ksh 8,400 from the complainant’s final salary, a decision the former employee believes was motivated not by facts or evidence, but by ethnic bias.
The complainant asserts that the decision to dock their salary was taken unilaterally and without proper communication or consent.
During a clearance meeting on July 1, 2025, they were presented with a termination letter reflecting the deduction, which they refused to sign on grounds of unfairness and lack of transparency.
Since then, the company has neither reached out for clarification nor provided a formal explanation regarding the deduction, leaving the individual in limbo and without recourse.
Further complicating the matter is the supermarket’s alleged response when the issue was raised with the Labour Office.
According to the complainant, labour officers expressed frustration over Magunas’ repeated non-compliance with their recommendations.
The officers reportedly acknowledged that staff-related grievances involving Magunas are frequent and that the supermarket routinely ignores government directives, undermining the very institutions tasked with protecting workers’ rights.
The gravity of these claims is amplified by the assertion that Magunas’ internal systems are capable of tracking who issued the erroneous credit note, since every staff member uses unique login credentials tied to their actions.
The former employee argues that this digital footprint makes it easy to identify the responsible party, yet the management chose to target someone else, possibly due to regional or ethnic considerations.
This represents not just administrative negligence but a dangerous culture of discrimination and scapegoating within the organisation.
Below is the complete account as received from the former employee, whose identity has been withheld upon request. "Hi Cyprian, Magunas Superstores which is mostly in central regions is mistreating its staff, overworking them with no overtime. They fire staff with no reason nor notice and they don’t pay them terminal dues. In case by God's grace they decide to pay, then they will deduct false money unknown to you to ensure you go home empty handed. You can work for 10 good years but go home with nothing. They have over 35 branches countrywide, most being in central regions. Please help us. I request anonymity. Thanks. They also deduct salaries but don’t remit to NHIF, so you can’t be treated when sick or have a patient. Every month salary is different, making it hard to know your exact salary. They don’t sign contracts on agreed basis like 3 months or 6 months. They sign when they want and violate the law by avoiding to remit taxes as required. They give no payslips to know your salary and deductions. Sometimes staff can relocate their kids to schools around the workplace but they fire without such considerations. Please expose them. They refused to pay me my dues. Instead, they threatened Labour Office staff at Murang’a office. They are lunatics and inhuman. Their action was biased and on tribal grounds because a staff from the credit note department gave out a credit note to Kayole branch wrongly, but instead of deducting his salary, they opted to deduct me because I am from another region. When I went for clearance on 1 July 2025, they refused to pay me my full salary and insisted to cut 8,400 from my final dues without my knowledge, so I didn’t sign their letter and they have never called me. When I asked them why they are deducting me something I was not aware of, they said that the credit note was given back in February 2025 but they don’t have a way to recover the debt because they don’t know the exact staff that gave out the credit note. I found their answer unfair and tribalistic because staff have passwords to log in. I worked outside the office with no access to any computer. My job was at the godown and had no single computer and it was far from the office. They kept saying, “toa hii kabila hapa mrima,” remove this tribe from the mountain. That’s why I didn’t sign the letter and I am asking for your assistance. I have requested Equity Bank for a statement. I will forward immediately I receive it. This will show different amounts of salary for every month. I moved from Kisii, changed school for my daughter because they told me to get a house near the office but they fired me on the spot with no warning letter nor notice without considering the losses. They called me to HR office and my termination letter was on the table for signing. I was employed on 25 November 2024. I was fired on 20 June 2025. Till today they have never paid me anything. I have struggled and continue to suffer each single day hoping to be paid. I worked for 7 months without a single warning letter to warrant termination of contract. When I went to Labour Office, the officers were unable to give me a court letter, saying Magunas have issues with staff and will ignore their orders and that each week they handle staff-related issues from Magunas and they refuse to honour their recommendations. My June salary is still pending." These allegations arrive at a particularly difficult time for Magunas Supermarket, a brand once celebrated for its humble origins and steady expansion, but now grappling with compounding crises on multiple fronts.
In recent weeks, the retail chain has suffered devastating blows to its physical infrastructure, with at least two of its outlets attacked, looted, and set ablaze amidst the escalating wave of nationwide anti-government protests.
On July 7, 2025, the 35th anniversary of the Saba Saba movement, historically associated with calls for democratic reforms, violent demonstrations swept across various towns, and the Makutano branch of Magunas Supermarket in Meru County became one of the most high-profile casualties.
The branch was completely overwhelmed by protesters, stripped of merchandise and eventually razed to the ground in full view of an overstretched and largely ineffective police presence.
Meanwhile, internal grievances within the company continue to mount, painting a troubling portrait of systemic mistreatment that goes far beyond isolated incidents.
Former and current employees are increasingly expressing frustration over what they describe as a culture of silence, fear, and discrimination, where accountability is selectively enforced and whistleblowing is met with intimidation or indifference.
The recent case may only scratch the surface, and it raises urgent questions about how many other workers have been subjected to similar injustices but lacked the platform or courage to speak out.
If there are others who have experienced unfair deductions, ethnic profiling, or procedural irregularities at Magunas, this is the time to come forward and expose the full extent of internal rot that seems to have taken root within the organization’s labour practices.
Only by amplifying these voices can a measure of justice begin to take shape.
We encourage anyone with direct knowledge of unethical practices, discriminatory treatment, or labour rights violations within Magunas Supermarket to step forward and share their experiences confidentially.
Workers deserve fairness, transparency, and dignity, regardless of their ethnicity or position.
Remaining silent only emboldens systemic abuse, while speaking out may not only aid in holding the institution accountable but also protect others from similar exploitation.
If you or someone you know has suffered in silence under similar circumstances, now is the time to speak not just for yourself, but for the many who may never get the chance.