It seems the board has frustrated accused employees to the point where they leave - this is with no irony as the Ushahidi team runs "Harrassmap, which started in 2010 with dedicated volunteers, plans to use the public-service ads, radio spots and social media to “create a zero-tolerance attitude for sexual harassment.” - their words (https://qz.com/434606/the-app-that-wants-to-make-egypts-stre...). The evidence is damning. The board has known for a while, the executive in question has had a ten year history of sexual harassment. Employees were asked to submit complaints to the harasser. This needs to stop, this needs to be exposed for what it is.
While I haven't heard from Ushahidi sources, this executive is known for harrassing women even on other platforms on the Kenyan online space. One of his victims told me of how he could send unsolicited pictures of his junk to her.
Apparently, this has been going on for a while. It's a shame some of the people associated with Ushahidi are at the forefront of waxing "women empowerment" on social media..and fighting manels, promoting feminism.. This must be dealt with..shame on you!
Please tell us what these women could have done to prevent harassment. If the allegations are true that man is the only one to blame. Anyone whether male or female that covered it up or threatened victims should be held to account. Take your woman-bashing elsewhere.
Nothing like women-bashing here my friend...we can't afford to be pretentious. This has been apparently reported severally and your so called feminists' reply is "We have a tech ecosystem to save"...The predator & everyone who has helped in this cover-up are one & the same thing...
Eric hersman has been tolerating and is behind this foul culture, this case reached him ages ago but he was too busy going after angani. We support Phares in this.
So was it those women who allegedly harassed employees?
Let's not muddy the waters please. This is about harassment and threats of excommunication from the community
Yes weely_weely is probably an Ushahidi insider trying to clean up mess to save a funding round..Probably a lady too..Probably Ory Okolloh...People who pretend to be leading causes online while condoning the worst of all..
We all know she left, that is not the point..The same google search will show you this has been well known all along..over a decade ago...You and your 2010 Ory take your seat at the fake feminists' corner.
Sexual harassment should never be condoned at the workplace. Perpetrators should be punished according to the law and company policy. That being said I do not know whether the accused is guilty. I take this as an opportunity to talk about what this means for the local tech scene.
1. Ushahidi must take responsibility. They have issued a statement so far but it is unsigned and apparently was shared on WhatsApp.
2. People shouldn't resort to cheap insults.
3. There should be no sacred cows. Who was the board member that was allegedly approached by victims then told them to be quiet? That person needs to own up.
I was talking about visibility. They are internationally renowned.
I agree the only people being protected here are Daudi Were, and the board members Juliana Rotich, Erik Hersman and David Kobia. These are the local directors.
You might recall that Hersman was adversely implicated last year during the Angani scandal.
This community should invest in trampolines because it enjoys jumping so much - especially to conclusions. All of the accusations about the board, its reactions and its alleged coverups are based entirely on hearsay. The victim of the allegations has not come forward publicly to say any of these things about the case or the board. Instead, she went to the board to follow due process and bring justice to her and other women who may have gone through the same. If she entrusted the board, rather than the tabloids or even the police, why don’t we do give them the same chance?
Does no-one understand that the board is in the tricky position of also having to fight of rumours while simultaneously protecting her identity, her case? And why don’t we realise that a man’s life, family and career is at stake. The allegations need to be taken seriously and investigated seriously. If it was an open-and-close case, they probably would have already fired him on the grounds of sexual harassment. But maybe, just maaaaaybe, there are nuances and subtleties to the case that “tech-moron” and we are not privy to! Sorry that you might have to exercise some patience if a man’s life indeed deserves to be crumbled!
There is so much misdirected bullshit being thrown around. As a woman who has gone through the painful process of accusing a man of sexual harassment, I heard about this incident and thought, poor lady, whoever she is. Her case being spoken about like this, speculations being made about her allegations. Can we, if not for the sake of due process and fairness, at least hold our wagging tongues for her sake?
Assuming her allegations are true, if we are sincere in supporting her and women like her, then the real enemy here is sexual harassment in the workplace; the real enemy is the predator at Ushahidi who did this. Our allies in this case are the board who can hold him responsible, make an example of him. The board of Ushahidi is who we should be showing support to as they navigate this delicate process and investigate these serious accusations. Again, remember that the victim in this case entrusted them, so we should too. Until she comes forward and says they are victim blaming, victim shaming, covering up or doing anything untowards the process, again - hold your wagging tongues.
To start from the position of holding them as the enemy and assuming their evil intentions is a reflection of some personal vendettas in this tech-startup-Ke-entrepreneur community, not a reflection of what any of the Ushahidi board members have stood for - do you know any of them personally? The 3 that I know: Erik and Kobia have daughters and not once have I even heard a vulgar word come out of their mouths towards, let alone towards women, neither could I imagine it; Juliana Rotich has been such an exemplary ambassador of African women in the tech space. These are people of integrity who have worked hard to build this community and are probably losing sleep over the thought of something so horrible happening under their noses. Stop and remind yourself that this case is about the victim(s) and perpetrator(s) of sexual harassment, not about Phares, Angani, Ory or Erik.
"The 3 that I know: Erik and Kobia have daughters and not once have I even heard a vulgar word come out of their mouths towards, let alone towards women, neither could I imagine it;"
Fallacy of Fallacies. Just because they have daughters or are married to "Women" or don't swear means what, that they have automatically done the right thing? Let them do the right thing now and fire the sex pest.
Victims have been silenced. It's open and shut, if the board was open to firing the CEO. There are multiple people here who were harassed but asked to keep quiet. Ask the team members at Ushahidi.
1. If you think that there is a good reason for why a CEO would be allowed at the helm following allegations of sexual misconduct, and why two months (or more) is a reasonable timeframe to handles such a matter, please walk us through your reasoning. 2. All predators have mothers. Never seemed to stop them. Many predators have wives and daughters. Never seemed to stop them. Many defenders of predators have wives and daughters, and sometimes are women. Did not stop them. From all accounts, there have been multiple opportunities for Ushahidi board to do the right thing. Just like in San Francisco, sometimes it requires the public to drive a matter to conclusion.
In the interest of full disclosure you have admitted that these are your friends. Does that not colour your judgement? Are you being paid to post here ?
2. Please tell us what happened when you accused someone of harassment. Were you silenced by the board? Were you threatened with excommunication? Were you asked to play nice while your harasser went free?
3. The board had a chance to show that they value openness. Why is the press release on their website dated yesterday below an item from last week? Why have hey not linked social media profiles at the bottom like they do every time?
4. This man was accused in 2006. Juliana and David had to have known that. What say they?
5. Ushahidi has grown and has become synonymous with the tech ecosystem. There is no running away from this.
6. Do you think Ushahidi's investors would be as understanding as you are and give lots of money with this person still at the helm?
1. No, I am not friends with either of them and no, I am not paid to post here. I do work in the ecosystem and do know them and exchange work conversations and ideas with them. I look up, especially to Juliana. I recently saw her on stage representing Kenyan women in the tech scene at G20 and was proud that she represented us well.
2. The harasser was eventually dismissed from employment, but not for sexual harassment because it was my word against his and I did not have any evidence. I knew this going into the process that he would be presumed innocent until proven guilty and I was unable to prove him to be guilty.
3. I don't know, does seem weird that it appears below a newer post.
4. I am not aware of that - I don't represent them here, just curious how you and other know about it, or is that hearsay? What did you personally do about it when you knew about it in 2006? I am all for naming and shaming when information has been verified.
5. I certainly hope not, all I am saying is that there hasn't been any public knowledge or statement from anyone suggesting they are trying to run away from this, why are we assuming that? Unless you, or others on this forum, work for someone or represent someone who is an insider to the case?
6. I hope all stakeholders, including ourselves here as the public and as the Kenyan tech community, hold Ushahidi to conduct a fair investigation into the matter. If in fact he is in the wrong, investors, funders and the community should boycott them. All I'm saying is, they are our allies now - not our enemies until I hear otherwise from a credible source. Why assume otherwise? I am questioning the motives that are muddying the waters of a bigger, more important issue here.
Finally, very true that having daughters, sisters and mothers does not stop one from being a sex pest. I was just attesting to my personal esteem for those 3 board members, I know no-one else in the case including the accused and the accuser.
This is probably one of the most ignorant things you will read in a while: "And why don’t we realise that a man’s life, family and career is at stake?" ....why in all your sense of entitlement don't you realize people have suffered under this predator, careers, families, friendships & lives ruined to protect an entitled clique. The people you mention here are the ones at the forefront of "women empowerment" on social media but behind the scenes they are helping to muzzle & defeat the girl child..The predator & everyone who has helped in this sustained cover up are one & the same thing.
Why am I not surprised. I hate to generalise but the conglomerate that is iHub, BRCK, and Ushahidi has previously handled issues in a very disingenuous way:
- They denied that BRCK violated the GPL for the longest time, until someone had to go out of their way to break it down for them, and the community [1].
- How some of their board members handled the Angani saga [2].
He is toxic to be on teams. But he is good at fundraising.
One only has to wonder whether American tax dollars should be spent to prop up an organisation with an alleged sexual predator at the helm and board members that cover it up. What else are they hiding? Bad financials?
Circa 2009, there was a blog that detailed the lie that Ushahidi is. I don't know where it disappeared to. One brave victim has decided to break the silence. The hypocrisy of Ushahidi is that the victim is being shamed and silenced at all costs by an organization that receives funding to champion the truth.
While at it, I see Ushahidi PR agents are all over this thread trying to earn their fee. That is OK. On the other hand, I encourage women and men of goodwill to speak up against the said sex pest.
This plot has just thickened. According to KahawaTungu and others the board is covering up some sort of fraud internally and that's why they cant take action against the CEO
Now that fellow is collecting awards in Luxembourg as things burn at home. Ushahidi directors still saying nothing. Wow. I wish Ghafla, Techweez, Techmoran and KahawaTungu would come together and share their scoops and work together on this. If they are cooking books we need proof.
If someone is always in the middle of scandals maybe they must be removed. Hatutaki snake oil salespeople hapa.
This guy seems to have had a reputation of harassment behaviour going back more than a decade among guy groups on a blog forum ran by two of the Ushahidi board members (D Kobia and Juliana Rotich). This means that, by the time they were appointing him as CEO of Ushahidi they were well aware of his behaviour. By then, they had also been alerted of his behaviour within Ushahidi. What would be the explanation for that?
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53 comments
[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 92.9 ms ] threadIt only gets worse
They are not the only ones at fault.
Also try and reason rationally before replying to this. It isn't hard.
And though I am flattered, I am not Ory.
Sexual harassment should never be condoned at the workplace. Perpetrators should be punished according to the law and company policy. That being said I do not know whether the accused is guilty. I take this as an opportunity to talk about what this means for the local tech scene.
1. Ushahidi must take responsibility. They have issued a statement so far but it is unsigned and apparently was shared on WhatsApp.
2. People shouldn't resort to cheap insults.
3. There should be no sacred cows. Who was the board member that was allegedly approached by victims then told them to be quiet? That person needs to own up.
PS: There is no local tech scene here to protect - only Daudi Were and his cronies. Ushahidi is not the local tech scene.
You might recall that Hersman was adversely implicated last year during the Angani scandal.
Does no-one understand that the board is in the tricky position of also having to fight of rumours while simultaneously protecting her identity, her case? And why don’t we realise that a man’s life, family and career is at stake. The allegations need to be taken seriously and investigated seriously. If it was an open-and-close case, they probably would have already fired him on the grounds of sexual harassment. But maybe, just maaaaaybe, there are nuances and subtleties to the case that “tech-moron” and we are not privy to! Sorry that you might have to exercise some patience if a man’s life indeed deserves to be crumbled!
There is so much misdirected bullshit being thrown around. As a woman who has gone through the painful process of accusing a man of sexual harassment, I heard about this incident and thought, poor lady, whoever she is. Her case being spoken about like this, speculations being made about her allegations. Can we, if not for the sake of due process and fairness, at least hold our wagging tongues for her sake?
Assuming her allegations are true, if we are sincere in supporting her and women like her, then the real enemy here is sexual harassment in the workplace; the real enemy is the predator at Ushahidi who did this. Our allies in this case are the board who can hold him responsible, make an example of him. The board of Ushahidi is who we should be showing support to as they navigate this delicate process and investigate these serious accusations. Again, remember that the victim in this case entrusted them, so we should too. Until she comes forward and says they are victim blaming, victim shaming, covering up or doing anything untowards the process, again - hold your wagging tongues.
To start from the position of holding them as the enemy and assuming their evil intentions is a reflection of some personal vendettas in this tech-startup-Ke-entrepreneur community, not a reflection of what any of the Ushahidi board members have stood for - do you know any of them personally? The 3 that I know: Erik and Kobia have daughters and not once have I even heard a vulgar word come out of their mouths towards, let alone towards women, neither could I imagine it; Juliana Rotich has been such an exemplary ambassador of African women in the tech space. These are people of integrity who have worked hard to build this community and are probably losing sleep over the thought of something so horrible happening under their noses. Stop and remind yourself that this case is about the victim(s) and perpetrator(s) of sexual harassment, not about Phares, Angani, Ory or Erik.
Fallacy of Fallacies. Just because they have daughters or are married to "Women" or don't swear means what, that they have automatically done the right thing? Let them do the right thing now and fire the sex pest.
2. Please tell us what happened when you accused someone of harassment. Were you silenced by the board? Were you threatened with excommunication? Were you asked to play nice while your harasser went free?
3. The board had a chance to show that they value openness. Why is the press release on their website dated yesterday below an item from last week? Why have hey not linked social media profiles at the bottom like they do every time?
4. This man was accused in 2006. Juliana and David had to have known that. What say they?
5. Ushahidi has grown and has become synonymous with the tech ecosystem. There is no running away from this.
6. Do you think Ushahidi's investors would be as understanding as you are and give lots of money with this person still at the helm?
2. The harasser was eventually dismissed from employment, but not for sexual harassment because it was my word against his and I did not have any evidence. I knew this going into the process that he would be presumed innocent until proven guilty and I was unable to prove him to be guilty.
3. I don't know, does seem weird that it appears below a newer post.
4. I am not aware of that - I don't represent them here, just curious how you and other know about it, or is that hearsay? What did you personally do about it when you knew about it in 2006? I am all for naming and shaming when information has been verified.
5. I certainly hope not, all I am saying is that there hasn't been any public knowledge or statement from anyone suggesting they are trying to run away from this, why are we assuming that? Unless you, or others on this forum, work for someone or represent someone who is an insider to the case?
6. I hope all stakeholders, including ourselves here as the public and as the Kenyan tech community, hold Ushahidi to conduct a fair investigation into the matter. If in fact he is in the wrong, investors, funders and the community should boycott them. All I'm saying is, they are our allies now - not our enemies until I hear otherwise from a credible source. Why assume otherwise? I am questioning the motives that are muddying the waters of a bigger, more important issue here.
Finally, very true that having daughters, sisters and mothers does not stop one from being a sex pest. I was just attesting to my personal esteem for those 3 board members, I know no-one else in the case including the accused and the accuser.
- They denied that BRCK violated the GPL for the longest time, until someone had to go out of their way to break it down for them, and the community [1].
- How some of their board members handled the Angani saga [2].
1. https://nairobilug.or.ke/2015/05/brck-violating-gpl.html
2. https://www.iafrikan.com/2015/11/23/angani-saga-2015/
USAID and the Omidyar Network where Ory is director of investments. This is why she can't comment.
http://www.techweez.com/2017/07/11/ushahidi-needs-to-act/
If someone is always in the middle of scandals maybe they must be removed. Hatutaki snake oil salespeople hapa.
If you're one of those users and want to be unbanned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com. We're happy to unban users who give us reason to believe they want to use the site as intended.