Brian Schwalb for Attorney General campaign
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing a celebrated upscale restaurant Swahili Village for rampant wage theft and egregious business practices.
The lawsuit, announced on Wednesday, accuses the restaurant company and its executive officers Kevin Onyona and Emad Shoeb of stealing wages and tips from staff since opening in 2020, as well as failing to keep records of how many hours each employee worked for compensation or paid sick leave purposes, leaving people deeply underpaid even as some worked over 60 hours a week. The Office of the Attorney General says Swahili Village owes “hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of paid sick leave days” to employees, most of whom are people of color including African immigrants, for violating numerous local laws.
“These egregious and systemic violations, which persisted for years, reveal that wage theft and worker abuse were no accident at Swahili Village DC—they were part of the business plan,” the lawsuit reads.
Swahili Village did not respond to a request for comment via email. Nor was a manager reachable by phone.
Onyona opened the fine dining restaurant that serves Kenyan cuisine catered to African diplomats and expats who worked downtown, in March of 2020. Various media reported at the time Swahili Village would be one of D.C.’s few Black-owned fine dining restaurants. The prestigious Michelin recommended the restaurant in its guide. He was forced to close his second week...
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