Unpermitted: The plight of migrant content moderators in Kenya without work permits

Many foreign content moderators say they spend long hours reviewing disturbing videos while waiting for work permits that never arrive.

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When Nigerian immigrant Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi was found dead in her Nairobi apartment earlier this year, fingers were pointed, investigations launched, and theories floated. But in the end, the matter seemed to rest with her, and justice, in whatever form, remained elusive.

Olubunmi had moved to Kenya in 2022 to work as a content moderator for TikTok with Teleperformance (TP), a French business process outsourcing (BPO) firm. She was due to be married this year in Nigeria. However, she did not have a valid work permit and was unable to return home, despite allegedly making repeated requests to the management at TP.