Marwako saga: Pepper victim's salary is GHS300

It has come to light that expatriate-owned eatery, Marwako Fast Food Limited, pays Ms Evelyn Boakye, the Ghanaian kitchen staffer who alleged that her Lebanese supervisor, Jihad Chaaban, dipped her face in freshly blended pepper as punishment about two weeks ago, Ghs300 as salary for her 10-hour a day job.

Ms Boakye reported her assault to the police, who arrested Mr Chaaban, interrogated him and later granted him bail. He was subsequently charged with assault on Tuesday, 7 March and billed for court today.

The incident has been widely condemned by Ghanaians on social media, leading to a call for a total boycott of Marwako.

On Tuesday, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, Labour and Employment Relations Minister Ignatius Baffour-Awuah and MP for the area, Kyeremateng Agyarko met with the management of Marwako over the matter. The Labour Minister ordered an intensive audit of Marwako’s labour practices.

Evelyn’s brother, Kobby, who disclosed his sister’s salary, told Moro Awudu on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 8 March that Marwako has not offered a penny to his sister in terms of assistance ever since the incident happened, contrary to claims by the restaurant that the victim has refused all help extended to her by the eatery.

He said his sister has been living on the benevolence of Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Otiko Afisa Djaba, former Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah, MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon Kyeremanteng Agyarko, and a few friends and relatives, stressing that: “I say on authority, they [Marwako] have not given any penny for hospital bills, it is a lie, it’s an insult to women.”

“And even up till now, the whole company, they have not been paid the workers, and even her [Evelyn],” he said.

According to him, the restaurant also, sometimes, makes deductions from the meagre GHS300 salary paid to staff with the excuse that there have been shortages of certain foodstuffs in the pantry, for which the workers are surcharged. “…It’s a table-top salary,” he stressed.

He said the incident has been hard on his sister and the family. “For now it’s kind of hard because looking at your kid sister being in the news everywhere … everyone is calling … so the stress is too much.”

“As for the family, we wish this thing hadn’t happened so that she will have her peace, we are not complaining about Evelyn getting GHS300 working for 10 hours a day, as a young girl she was not depending on any man to survive,” he added.