A storm is brewing at Ngirabi Enterprises, the sole distributor of Afrigas—Vivo Energy’s flagship cooking gas product—over serious allegations of employee rights violations and contract forgery.
According to a whistleblower tip received by The Informant, the enterprise, operated by Joseph Mwangi Kazungu and Zacharia Mwangi, is accused of forging employment contracts and using them as legal tools against its own workers, most of whom are young and financially vulnerable.
“This enterprise has been violating employee rights and has now gone a step further to forge employment contracts and use them in court,” the tip reads. “A formal complaint has already been submitted to Vivo Energy, but I am not sure whether they will take it seriously.”
Former employees and insiders allege that Ngirabi Enterprises routinely fails to honor verbal employment promises, arbitrarily terminates contracts, and creates retroactive documentation to shield itself from legal consequences.
“These young workers are hired informally, underpaid, and then bullied into silence when they raise concerns,” said one former worker who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “The fake contracts are produced when someone threatens legal action. They’re then used in court to make it look like everything was above board.”
Attempts to reach Ngirabi Enterprises for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publishing. Calls and emails to both Joseph Mwangi Kazungu and Zacharia Mwangi went unanswered.
A representative at Vivo Energy, which owns the Afrigas brand, confirmed receipt of a complaint but declined to give details, saying, “We are currently reviewing the matter in line with our internal ethics and compliance procedures.”
Labor rights advocates say this is yet another example of corporate distributors using legal loopholes to exploit youth labor under the radar of government regulation.
“If these claims are true, it would be a gross abuse of power,” said Beatrice Njoroge, a Nairobi-based labor lawyer. “Forgery of contracts is a criminal offense and calls for immediate investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ministry of Labour.”
The affected workers are now calling on regulators, civil society, and Vivo Energy to intervene before more livelihoods are destroyed.
This story is developing. The Informant will continue to follow up on the investigations and provide updates as they emerge.
Have you worked with or for Ngirabi Enterprises? Reach out to us confidentially at tips@theinformant.digital.
