Marwako condemns, suspends Lebanese 'pepper' assailant

Marwako Fast Foods has condemned the alleged assault of one of its Ghanaian kitchen staff named Evelyn Boakye by a Lebanese supervisor, Jihad Chaaban, 26, a brother-in-law to the owner of the restaurant, at its Abelenkpe branch.

Evelyn alleged that Jihad forcefully dipped her face into a paste of pepper she had blended at the restaurant with the excuse that she was destroying the eatery’s blender.

She also said Jihad had her locked up in seclusion for several hours and threatened to sack any staff that blew the lid on him. The Accra Regional Police Command is currently investigating the matter.

A statement from Marwako issued on Saturday, 4 February and signed by Chief Executive Officer Alhaji Marwan Mohammed said management “deeply regrets” the alleged February 26 assault.

It said the branch supervisor at the centre of the “unfortunate development has since been suspended, without prejudice, pending investigations and disciplinary sanctions over the alleged act.”

“Management assures its clients and the general public that it does not and will never condone mistreatment of its workers and therefore condemns in no uncertain terms the alleged assault,” the statement said, adding: “Management is cooperating fully with and assisting police to establish the true facts for the purposes of allowing the laws of Ghana to be applied accordingly.”

Mr Jihad Chaaban has been interrogated by police and is currently on bail pending further processes.

Marwako also noted that internal processes had earlier been initiated toward dealing with the issue but management was kept in the dark about it until the police stepped in.

“Management has become aware that the victim had immediately reported the incident to the Head of Human Resources at the Labadi branch, but this, unfortunately, had not been brought to the attention of management until police sought to arrest said supervisor.

“It is understood that HR Department had attempted to resolve issues internally and that explains why said victim reported to work on Monday February 27, 2017.

“These attempts at internal resolution were then curtailed by management to allow for disciplinary proceedings as Chaaban was suspended,” the statement noted.

It said Marwako in the meantime is providing “the best of care and ensuring the best interest of the victim, and assures that it will not sacrifice the reputation it has built for itself over the last twelve years in Ghana as an entity that looks out for its employees who are credited for the best services it renders to its clients.”

The CEO said in the statement that being a Ghanaian citizen himself and having employed over three hundred of his fellow Ghanaian citizens, he was “particularly saddened by the incident and commits to getting to the bottom of it.”