Tizeti, a Nigerian broadband internet company, has said that it will investigate the sexual harassment allegations reportedly made against founder Kendall Ananyi.
Tizeti in a statement shared on its Twitter handle said: “Our attention has been drawn to a series of tweets posted by Kelechi Udoagwu on Twitter between June 2 and 3, 2020, where she alleges that our CEO, Kendall Ananyi, sexually harassed her during an interaction two years ago.
“As a company, we have zero tolerance for harassment and outright condemn sexual harassment of any kind and empathize with any person who faces incidents of sexual harassment.
“We have commissioned an investigation into the allegations. Tizeti is fully committed to high ethical standards, gender equality, and making sure our diverse team feels comfortable and safe at all times,” the company said.
Kendall Ananyi is yet to respond to the allegations.
Kelechi Udoagwu made the accusation had taken to Twitter share her sexual harassment story. She wrote: “I just laughed sadly cos I remember one Naija #tech mentor who was supposed to be mentoring me when I was in MEST & this dude (married) pulled out and put his dick in my hands in the bright afternoon, begging me for anything I could do *sigh.
He wasn’t a staff of MEST. He visited as a Guest Speaker. Our friendship had been purely platonic and professional till that afternoon.
I could barely assimilate and react that this was really happening cos I had put the guy on a pedestal and know about his wife.
— K. (@anti_ratrace) June 2, 2020
Defused the situation calmly. Nothing happened. Was mad irritated. We have never spoken since then.
That evening, I went and told @Sir_Kobb and Jerry (what’s Jerry’s handle), my friends & protectors then.
They told me “everything go de alright” and we moved on from the topic.
— K. (@anti_ratrace) June 2, 2020
His name is Kendall Ananyi. Founder of https://t.co/rgZVPGLshR or Tizeti. https://t.co/M5dkVoiti5
— K. (@anti_ratrace) June 3, 2020
“He wasn’t a staff of MEST. He visited as a Guest Speaker. Our friendship had been purely platonic and professional till that afternoon. I could barely assimilate and react that this was really happening cos I had put the guy on a pedestal and know about his wife.
Defused the situation calmly. Nothing happened. Was mad irritated. We have never spoken since then. That evening, I went and told @Sir_Kobb and Jerry (what’s Jerry’s handle), my friends & protectors then. They told me “everything go de alright” and we moved on from the topic.
“His name is Kendall Ananyi. Founder of wifi.com.ng or Tizeti.”
Tech community reacts
We have zero tolerance for sexual harassment and assault at MEST and within the MEST community. We will stand behind you and help escalate action if you wish. We have privately DM’d you as well.
— MEST Africa (@MESTAfrica) June 3, 2020
I saw this last night and it was so sad to read and process. No one should ever have to be in this position. Some of the silence may be people waiting to hear from the accused. It doesn’t make it right, particularly given the delay. This incident and others will be addressed!
— Seni Sulyman (@senisulyman) June 4, 2020
Hello Kelechi, I am so sorry to read about this. Please stay strong. 👊🏿
— Kola Aina (@kola_aina) June 3, 2020
This is heartbreaking to read and it's a situation no one should ever find themselves in. I'm sorry you had to go to through and "sorry" alone won't solve the root cause, we must do much better.
— Yele ‘夜雷’ Bademosi 💸 (@YeleBademosi) June 4, 2020
This cannot be allowed to happen – ever not to anyone, anywhere. I wish @MESTAfrica back then had been a place that encouraged you to speak out and take action. It’s a place where you should’ve been thriving – not attacked. https://t.co/45vssvJUy4
— Aaron Fu (@AaronQFu) June 4, 2020
Sorry guys – I realise this came across as self centred and apologise for the offence it might’ve caused.
— Aaron Fu (@AaronQFu) June 4, 2020
These allegations follow the rape and murder of 22-year-old Vera Uwaila Omozuwa which led to social media outrage leading users to inundate the different platforms with their rape and sexual harassment experiences.
