Swahili Village Restaurant Owner Faces Charges In US Court Over Alleged Theft Of Workers' Wages

• Swahili Village Restaurant in Washington DC was accused of stiffing employees of their wages for years
• The restaurant, owned by a Kenyan businessman Kevin Onyona, allegedly paid workers as little as KSh 700 per hour
• Onyona and his business associate Emad Shoeb are accused of violating Washington DC's tipped minimum wage law and other workers' benefits

A US court has charged a Kenyan man for allegedly cheating employees of their wages for years.

Kevin Onyona, who owns the popular Swahili Village Restaurant in Washington DC, was accused of paying workers as little as $5 (KSh 725) per hour.

Restaurant tips, overtime pay

The lawsuit from the DC Attorney General’s Office accused Onyona and his associate Emad Shoeb of violating minimum wage law and neglecting to provide required overtime and sick leave, Washingtonian reported.

The restaurant underpaid some workers by up to $5,000 (KSh 725,000), some of whom are immigrants from Africa.

“Our investigation indicates that Swahili Village DC and its executives, Kevin Onyona and Emad Shoeb, persistently and systematically failed to pay hundreds of hard-working restaurant workers the wages, tips, and benefits they were legally entitled to receive, violating the basic wage, overtime, sick leave, and record-keeping rules that all District employers are required to follow,” read the lawsuit in part

According to the EastAfrican, the lawsuit sparked social media debate across the US among restaurant customers and people who have known it as a successful foreign-owned business.

The prosecution would have far-reaching consequences for the eatery and its owners, who have since remained silent.

Onyona said he is yet to meet with the DC Attorney and prepare his defence before commenting on the matter.

Some workers accused the restaurant of not paying overtime, saying they have been working up to 60 hours per week.

What Swahili Village serves

The DC Attorney's Office accused Onyona of failing to keep regular payroll records to conceal the mode of payment calculations.

Swahili Village Restaurant (The Consulate) offers Kenyan staples like goat stew, nyama choma, whole tilapia in coconut and traditional vegetables.

Onyona started the business in a tiny space in College Park in 2009 before moving into a Beltsville space and later expanded it from DC to Newark, New Jersey.

Kenyans owning multimillion business empires abroad

The eatery is among multimillion business empires owned by Kenyans abroad.

Other Kenyans who have established multi-million businesses are Everlyne Muthoni, Dominic Chumo and Mary Njuguna.

Dominic Chumo is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Talkcoms Limited in the United Kingdom (UK).