Former Group Chief People Officer of Kuda Technologies, Rosemary Hewat, has filed a complaint accusing the company and its CEO, Babatunde Ogundeyi, of sex discrimination, victimization and unfair dismissal.

Ms Hewat, who filed the case with the UK Employment Tribunal, accused the company of forced termination of appointment in April 2024 after prolonged mistreatment.

Her dismissal was due to a formal grievance lawsuit she filed about the ESOP issue in December 2023. 

Ms Hewat was fired while en route to an executive retreat in Nigeria. She alleged her dismissal was sudden and unjustified, accusing Kuda of attempting to frame it as redundancy without following any selection criteria.

The fintech company could not comment on the matter because it is an ongoing lawsuit.

Ms Hewat, who was hired in 2021 and oversaw Kuda’s UK office as a global HR operations officer, said she witnessed and experienced discriminatory behaviours at variance with the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy. 

She accused Mr Ogundeyi and other senior leaders of deliberately undermining her role and encouraging a culture of misogyny and intimidation in the company.

Insisting her dismissal was due to discrimination, Ms Hewat further accused Mr Ogundeyi of berating two female employees by calling them “low class”.

According to her, the incident was reflective of a broader pattern that made Kuda’s workplace “intimidating, hostile, degrading and humiliating” for her and other women.

The full hearing of the case was scheduled for October this year.