Kenyan tea workers claim Unilever failed to protect them from deadly violence

Group of 218 survivors and families of victims lodge complaint with United Nations over plantation attack in which seven were killed and 56 raped

Unilever has vast tea estates in Kenya's Kericho region (AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds of workers caught up in a deadly attack on a Unilever tea plantation in Kenya have lodged a formal complaint against the company with the United Nations, alleging the British-Dutch firm failed to act on warnings of violence.

The 218 complainants, who include the families of seven employees killed during the attack and 56 female staff who were raped, also claim Unilever have failed to provide adequate support for victims.

The multinational, which owns tea brands PG Tips, Liptons, T2 and Tazo, is accused “hiding behind its vast corporate structure” to shield itself from liability in legal action brought over the December 2007 ethnic violence at the plantation in Kericho, western Kenya.