Ex-InterCon executive sacked over emails to hotel chief sues

Mr Karl Hala. FILE 

By GALGALLO FAYO

A former executive at InterContinental Hotel in Nairobi who was sacked for allegedly sending offensive emails to the head of the high-end restaurant is now seeking compensation in court.

Eric Musembi Mwanzia, who worked as director of convention and event sales at the hotel until August, accused InterContinental Hotel chief Karl Hala of unfair dismissal over a trove of damaging emails.

The emails sent to Mr Hala in the two years to 2012 accused the hotel head of promiscuity and abetting corrupt dealings at InterContinental, prompting an investigation that led to the prosecution and sacking of the official in August.

Mr Mwanzia, however, was acquitted October 4 due to lack of witnesses and is now seeking compensation for lost earnings, malicious prosecution and damages to his reputation.

“I believe that the actions of making a false complaint, instituting charges and prosecuting me were actuated by malice and ill will on the part of the 1st (Director of Public Prosecution), 3rd (Mr Hala) and 4th (Intercon) defendants,” says Mr Mwanzia in court documents.

“As a result of the defendants’ actions, I have so far been unable to secure work in the hotel industry or anywhere else.”

He said linking him to the damaging mails was a plot to oust him from the hotel, which  is owned 33.8 per cent each by the State and the UK-listed InterContinental Hotels Corporation Group. Mr Mwanzia had worked at InterContinental since 2009 after joining the hotel from Panafric Hotel.

His troubles with the hotel management started in December 2012 when Mr Hala received anonymous emails, which were also sent to Intercon’s executive team.

The emails, which are attached to the court documents, accused Mr Hala of seeking favours from Cabinet ministers in the previous regime by offering them free rooms, using company sponsored credit cards to treat friends on holidays and aiding a senior finance executive to do business with the hotel while not remitting taxes.

Mr Hala was also faulted for allegedly running a work permit scheme that offered expatriates jobs at the hotel that were meant for locals. This prompted Mr Hala, an Austrian, to invite the Directorate of Criminal Investigations early last year to trace the source of the e-mails.

“This (email) is causing a lot of concern and disruption amongst government office and our organisations as the e-mails are malicious and incorrect,” said Mr Hala in a January 28, 2013 letter to the detectives.

The investigations allegedly revealed that the emails were linked to Mr Mwanzia because parts of the documents were found attached to his official email.

He was charged on August 14 and dismissed on August 26 and case was terminated in October after the witnesses including Mr Hala and the hotel’s security and HR heads failed to appear in court.