Kuda and CEO are faced with allegations of gender discrimination and unjust dismissal from a former CEO, for submission

Work case Kuda TechnologiesOne of the fastest growing digital banks in Africa, under the control of the allegations of discrimination in the workplace, harassment and unlawful dismissal. Rosemary Hut, the former main people of the Code Group (CPO), filed a complaint accusing the company and its CEO Babatunde Ogunde, for discrimination of gender, victimization and unjust dismissal.

According to the submission, Hewat, who has played the senior role for nearly three years, claims that the company pushed her in April 2024 after prolonged abuse. She brought the case to the UK’s employment tribunal and TechCrunch reviewed legal documents.

The complaint reveals internal conflicts in KUDA, which provides digital banking services to millions of clients in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, it also causes wider concerns about workplace culture, leadership accountability and gender equality in Africa.

When they were reached for comment, Hewat refused to discuss the case, citing current court proceedings. The full hearing is defined for October.

“It is precisely that Rosemary Hut, a former employee of Kuda Technologies Limited UK, has filed a claim for an employment tribunal against the company,” a Kuda spokesman said in response to TechCrunch. “Since this is currently a legal question, we cannot provide additional information at the moment. In accordance with our current policy and respect for privacy, we do not comment on questions of this nature related to current or former employees.

Hired in August 2021, Hewat runs global HR operations from the Kuda office in the UK. According to the submission, it has witnessed and experiences discriminatory behavior that contradicts the policy of diversity, justice and inclusion (DEI) of the KUDA (DEI). She claims that Chief Executive Ogundi and other senior leaders deliberately undermine her role, encouraging a culture of misogynia and intimidation.

For example, the submission describes the company’s retreat in Lagos, Nigeria, in December 2023, Hewat claims that Ogundyi publicly beats two employees on submission. He is said to have called them a “low -class” and accused them of lack of “quality or luxury”, leaving them in tears. Hewat, according to the submission, insists that this incident was part of a wider model that made the workplace of the Kuda “frightening, hostile, humiliating, humiliating and offensive” to her and other women.

The complaint also describes how Ogunde seemed to see himself in Kuda. Hatat claims that he has repeatedly told her that employees look at him as “God” and are afraid to approach him.

Hewat says senior management excludes it from discussions about a critical strategy, according to the submission. In January 2023, then Pavel Christilubov claimed that he had left her at a senior management meeting, although her team was dealing with resources for the agenda resources. When she questioned her exclusion, Ogundi told her that the meeting was about the product strategy, which makes her presence unnecessary. Shortly thereafter, her team was pressured to apply resources from this meeting.

After Hristolubov claims to have bypassed the authority of Heava by working directly with the members of her team, the submission said. When she expressed concerns about Ogunde and CTO Mutairu Mustafa, Ogundi rejected them. In a review of efficiency, Ogundi claims that he told her “to spend the next six months to please Paul.” Hewat claims in the submission that this further exacerbates the toxic work environment and prevents her ability to play her role.

By October 2023, Hewat officially offered to review internal systems to deal with his problems with Christolub. Instead of engaging in her concerns, Ogunde claims that she threatens her with dismissal.

A dispute over compensation of equity

At the center of Hewat’s complaint, there is an unresolved dispute over the storage options of her employees (ESOP). When she joined Kuda, she claims that her company has offered several hundred thousand dollars ESOP shares in its series A rating. Despite numerous requests, she has never received official documentation.

The Kuda finally issued a grant in April 2022, but it was based on its series B evaluation, increasing the price of the shares and reducing its value of equity, according to the filing. She claims that she later discovered that the then KFO Stephen Bastian had successfully agreed to return his shares in the price of the A. A. When Hayat expressed fears, Ogunay allegedly rejected his application, saying that Bastian’s role was “more” -Important “by hers.

In December 2023, Hewat officially documented his concerns about the distribution of shares (and the non -compliance) according to the filing. She warned the Kuda that he was unable to cope with the problem could be a gender discrimination under the United Kingdom Labor Law. In response, Ogundi rejected his allegations, claiming that he did not have a contractual right to series A.

“As a company, we note that you have not provided correspondence (emails, letters, etc.) to justify your claims and assume that this is because there is no evidence,” Ogunde said to her, according to the submission. “The conditions of your grant and options are specified in writing; Even if someone has suggested that you can get something different (which is not accepted), it does not do contractual rights. “

Despite Ogunde’s assurances that Kuda would investigate her complaint, no formal investigation was being conducted on filing. Hewat claims that Ogundyi rejected mediation and personally tackled the internal investigation of his own actions, ultimately managed in his favor. She claims that this has violated the KUDA complaint policy and the ACAS Practice Code to resolve workplace disputes.

Hatat claims that her attempt to resolve her concerns in January 2024 has worsened her relationship with her ex -boss. She claims that he pressed her to withdraw her complaint about discrimination she refused to do.

Sudden dismissal and revenge

In February 2024, Kuda sharply fired the London -based Hewat while traveling to Lagos for retreat of the Exco Executive Committee. She had just attended her sister’s defective service and was on fire when Ogundi insisted on a video call. Although he informed him of her circumstances, Hepat claims that she fired her during this conversation.

It is alleged that Kuda has banned the HEATA from the retreat she has entered, for which she saw as a deliberate attempt to humiliate her. When she later met Ogunde personally, he pointed out economic instability and measures to reduce costs as reasons for her dismissal.

“I make some severe changes, the change definitely has to happen … Many personal clashes and you are definitely in the dense of it,” Ogundi says. He also said, “You are probably unpaid in the UK, but for the kud, you are dear … What should Rosie do to justify his salary? This is mainly a currency. “

According to the submission, Ogunde claims that her shooting is not related to the complaint about the discrimination of the hevat, the divisions of the units or the Christol. However, Hepat claims that he still raised her relationship with Hristolubov. (Hristolubov eventually left Kuda two months after Hepat, in June 2024)

Hatat claims that Kuda offered her the same conditions for going out as Hristolubov, although he was a contractor while she was a full -time employee. She claims that Kuda has fired her from revenge for complaints about discrimination in the workplace, pointing out that she is the only fired executive director based in the UK.

In response to a claim for redundancies, later, the Kuda filed against her, she countered that the company did not fight financially, citing the ability to pay Ogundy’s 55,000 British pounds a year, according to the submission.

The news of Hewat’s dismissal spread rapidly within the Kuda, despite Ogunde’s alleged confidentiality assurances. When she sent it by email about the violation, she claims that he ignores her.

Adding to the confusion, Cto Mustapha supposedly admitted that her shooting was a mistake forced by board members Ricardo Schaefer and Andrew John McCormak. He invited her to come back, but the discussions fell apart after Kuda refused his settlement requests and delayed the answer to his request for the “data topic”.

Instead, her company sent a formal letter to consult a redundancy weeks after her dismissal, the submission said. Over the next few months, Hewat claims that Kuda avenges further by reducing her salary, canceling her health insurance and refuses his full holiday pay. Hewat, unable to toxic environment, resigned in April 2024, citing constructive dismissal.

The legal submission of the former CPO details how Kuda’s actions leave her in financial difficulties as the company refused to pay her unpaid salaries. Hewat is now seeking compensation for unfair dismissal, gender discrimination, emotional distress and the alleged failure of the Kuda to follow the correct workplace complaint procedures. It also requires recovery of unpaid holiday salaries and medical expenses.

This case puts kuda, which has raised significant funding to a risk, including a 55 million dollars Serie B round in 2021 By investors such as Valar Ventures and Target Global, under considerable control at a time when African companies are facing an increasing investor and regulatory pressure to improve management and corporate accountability caused first by a series of accusations of workplace in the workplace FlutterwaveThe most precious startup in Africa, in 2022.

With investors and a wider technological ecosystem carefully, it can also have significant consequences for the company’s reputation and its ability to attract the best talents in the future. As for the Ogundyi and the leadership team, they may encounter increased control over the treatment of women’s employees.

It is an event that serves as a warning tale for other technology companies where rapid growth can sometimes overshadow cracks in internal operations. How the Kuda manages this legal challenge can shape the future trajectory of the company, both in terms of employees’ relations and in his position in Nigeria and the wider Fintech ecosystems.