Swahili Village: Kenyan-owned American restaurant to pay Ksh. 67 million in wage theft lawsuit

In the lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleged that Swahili Village DC “systematically stole wages and tips from its servers, hosts, food runners, bussers and bartenders.”

The 2023 suit also alleged they violated multiple labor laws, such as failure to pay overtime, provide sick leave, pay minimum wages and maintain required employment records.

Kevin Onyona, the founder and CEO of Swahili Village DC, and Ermad Shoeb, who served as Chief Operating Officer, previously denied the allegations.

According to a release from OAG, the settlement requires Swahili Village and its executives to pay more than $260,000 (Ksh. 34 million) in restitution to 72 affected workers, $197,614 (Ksh. 25 million) in penalties to D.C., pay a claims administrator who will contact and pay all eligible workers and change its practices to comply with District wage and hour laws.

The company must also provide reports of compliance to the Attorney General for three years.

"It is unacceptable, and illegal, for businesses to steal from their hardworking employees, depriving them of the full benefits they have earned and are legally entitled to,” said Schwalb. 

“Employers that do so are not only exploiting their workers but are gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors who play by the rules.”

A former bartender at Swahili Village, Rowles Adams, made comments about his experience as a worker at the restaurant, as noted in the press release.

“For months, I saw managers mistreat my coworkers, including many young immigrants who did not even realize that what was happening was wrong. I spoke out, but it didn’t change things. I’m so grateful that the lawyers from the attorney general’s office heard our plea for help and stood with us to get justice,” said Adams.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023 after a lengthy investigation into Swahili Village DC, Onyona and Emad Shoeb, who served as chief operating officer of the company.

The suit alleges that the defendants engaged in a pattern of wage theft, paid workers much less than minimum wage, did not pay overtime wages, did not distribute tips and did not provide legally required sick leave.

The majority of employees at Swahili Village DC are people of color, including young African immigrants.

“This settlement, we believe, sends a strong signal to employers that it’s important to treat workers fairly, with dignity, and to abide by the law,” said Graham Lake, chief of the workers’ rights section at the office of the attorney general.

“These workers are going to have money back in their pocket as compensation for having their rights violated.”

Onyona, a former seminary student, opened the original Swahili Village in College Park in 2009. He opened the Washington DC location in March 2020 and another location in Newark, New Jersey the following year. 

The restaurant’s Kenyan staples like goat stew, nyama choma, and whole tilapia in coconut sauce have won praise from Kenyans and Africans abroad.

Last September, President William Ruto visited the New Jersey Swahili Village outlet, praising the founder Kevin Onyona for his business acumen and industriousness.