Former employees of Haltons Pharmacy, a Kenyan subsidiary of the pan-African pharmaceutical company mPharma, have come forward with alarming claims of sudden termination, delayed severance payments, and statutory non-compliance, leaving dozens of workers in financial and emotional distress.
The employees say they were dismissed on grounds of redundancy, with the company initially committing to provide severance pay.
At the time of the termination, staff were assured that the payments would be issued within a reasonable period but this promise has since unravelled, triggering frustration and anxiety among the affected.
After delaying the agreed timeline, the company proposed a revised arrangement that would see severance paid out in several instalments but even this alternative plan has not been honoured.
Just before the expected disbursement of the first payment, the company issued a communication stating its inability to proceed, offering no definite timeline or solution, only vague assurances that further communication would follow.
What has compounded the situation is the company’s prolonged failure to update statutory contributions.
According to those affected, Haltons Pharmacy did not remit employee NSSF payments for a period exceeding one year.
This omission constitutes not only a breach of trust but also a violation of employment regulations.
Many of the former employees are now left without income, without recourse, and without clarity on when or whether they will receive what is owed to them.
For a company operating as part of a wider continental pharmaceutical network, the conduct being described raises difficult questions about corporate responsibility, transparency, and treatment of local workforces under foreign-backed operations.
Below is what one of the affected former employees had to share, shedding light on the lived reality behind the company’s silence and broken commitments.
“Hello Cyprian. Thank you for the great work you do in bringing to light some inhuman actions. I worked at a company called Haltons Pharmacy, a subsidiary of mPharma, which operates in about nine African countries. On April 11, 2025, we were terminated on grounds of redundancy. They initially communicated that severance pay would be made by June 2025. Toward the end of June, they informed us they could not pay due to unforeseen cash flow issues. They proposed a new plan to pay in three instalments—on or before the end of July, August, and September 2025. However, on July 28, they sent an email stating they would not be able to pay as earlier communicated. They did not give a new timeline—only mentioned that they would communicate in the coming weeks. Additionally, it is important to note that they have not been updating NSSF contributions since Q1 of 2023. We sincerely need help.”
