Employee Theft Shuts Kenyan Salon as 63% of East African Firms Report Economic Crime
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Oct 25
Employee Theft Shuts Kenyan Salon as 63% of East African Firms Report Economic Crime
1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Oct 25
Summary
A customer’s message about payments being sent to a different phone number exposed theft at Nairobi’s Waxaholic Studio, prompting owner That Girl Boina to shut the business in October 2025 after revenue kept falling.
Boina had opened the salon in September 2024 and initially blamed weaker takings on seasonality, only later concluding staff were diverting client payments while the business slipped out of profit.
Her viral account drew similar stories from other African entrepreneurs, including a Kenyan clothing brand hit by inflated supplier invoices and a Ghana electronics shop where an employee allegedly skimmed up to $30 from roughly $200 daily sales.
The pattern extends beyond microbusinesses: PwC found 63% of East African respondents had faced economic crime in 2022, versus 46% globally, while collapsed Kenyan chains Tuskys and Nakumatt were also linked to employee fraud and stock theft.
Loss-control specialists say weak oversight leaves small firms especially exposed, with one pharmacy branch’s daily sales rising from 80,000 to 200,000 Kenya shillings after tighter cash and stock controls.