CleanShelf Supermarket Fined KSh 500,000 for Inappropriate Customer Search Over False Shoplifting Claim
A Kenyan court has ordered CleanShelf Supermarket to pay a shopper KSh 500,000 in damages after she was subjected to a public and humiliating body search on false suspicion of shoplifting a bottle of shampoo.
In what has been described as a landmark ruling on consumer dignity and privacy, Justice Abigail Mshila of the High Court found that the supermarket’s staff violated the constitutional rights of Everlyn Kagwiria, who was wrongly accused of theft at CleanShelf’s Ruaka branch on June 3, 2023.
According to court documents, Kagwiria was confronted by a supermarket staff member as she attempted to leave the store. She was accused of stealing a bottle of shampoo after being seen holding it “for an unusually long time” but allegedly failing to produce it at the counter.
Despite her protests of innocence, Kagwiria was reportedly subjected to a full-body search in full view of other shoppers, drawing a crowd and causing what she described as “trauma, humiliation and embarrassment.” The supermarket staff eventually found nothing on her person.
In her petition, Kagwiria told the court that the public nature of the search left her “deeply distressed,” particularly because she lives in the same neighbourhood as the store. She said that following the incident, neighbours began to treat her as a suspected shoplifter, further intensifying her emotional suffering.
Although she lodged a complaint with CleanShelf’s management, the retailer merely apologised and ignored her subsequent demand letter, prompting her to pursue legal redress.
Violation of Rights and Policy Breach
Justice Mshila ruled that the supermarket had infringed upon Kagwiria’s constitutional rights to dignity and privacy, which are guaranteed under Articles 28 and 31 of the Kenyan Constitution.
“The court finds that the petitioner’s rights as enshrined in the Constitution, with respect to dignity, freedom and security of her person, and privacy, were infringed by the acts or omissions of the CleanShelf Supermarket,” Justice Mshila stated.
The court further found that the supermarket had violated its own internal Loss Control Policy, which stipulates that searches of customers must be conducted in private and under the supervision of a senior staff member.
CleanShelf’s defence, filed through its Assistant Manager Olive Wanjiku, claimed that Kagwiria had been subjected to a “routine search” conducted under reasonable suspicion of theft. The manager alleged that the shopper “became aggressive, hostile, and loud,” thereby drawing public attention to herself.
“The petitioner became aggressive, hostile and loud in her tone as she denied having any items; as such, she attracted the attention of other customers and bystanders,” Wanjiku said in the supermarket’s affidavit. “Efforts to calm her down remained futile… She became even more aggressive and therefore attracted the humiliation and embarrassment she is now claiming on herself.”
Court Rejects Supermarket’s Defence
However, Justice Mshila dismissed that argument, ruling that the supermarket had failed to ensure Kagwiria’s privacy. The court noted that even by CleanShelf’s own admission, the search was conducted in an area “accessible to other shoppers and members of the public,” which constituted a clear breach of privacy.
The judge declared that Kagwiria’s fundamental rights and freedoms, including those protected under Articles 28, 31, and 46 of the Constitution, were violated.
“A declaration be and is hereby issued that the petitioner is deserving of nominal damages assessed at KSh 500,000,” ruled Justice Mshila. “The respondent shall bear the costs of this petition. It is so ordered.”
The judgment has been hailed by legal analysts as a significant precedent in the protection of consumer rights and personal dignity in Kenya’s retail sector.
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CleanShelf Supermarket Fined KSh 500,000 for Inappropriate Customer Search Over False Shoplifting Claim