Science and racism: UK-Kenya research programme faces discrimination charges

Incidents of gender discrimination in science have come to light and have been widely discussed. However, in a remarkable case, six African researchers working for the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme pressed charges against the institute for discriminating against them and won the case. The Kenyan industrial court declared that the researchers will be awarded a compensation of 30 million Kenyan shillings (US$341,000) for having faced “institutional racism” and “systemic discrimination.”

The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme is run in partnership with the University of Oxford, UK, and is funded mainly by the Wellcome Trust, the largest medical charity of the UK. The researchers (also known as the KEMRI six) Samson Gwer, Michael Mwaniki, Nahashon Thuo, John Wagai, Moses Ndiritu and Albert Komba—who were medical officers or clinical research officials working towards their doctorate, accused the institute of holding their career back while favoring their European colleagues. They complained that their research work was stolen and given to European researchers; they were paid less than their European colleagues despite the same level of competence and were provided unequal opportunities in grants and training. When the six researchers complained of unfair treatment to the programme managers in 2010, they were suspended. Therefore, they sued the institute for compensation and demanded their reinstation and their charges were upheld by the Kenyan legal system.

According to Kelly Chibale, a Zambia-born biochemist who trained in Britain and the United States, and who now leads a drug-discovery centre at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, “Partnerships between rich and poor nations inevitably generate tensions, and those are exacerbated when the split between the haves and the have-nots runs along racial or former-colonial lines.” As a solution to the issue, Samson Gwer of the KEMRI six suggests that partnerships between developing and developed nations should be looked at more thoroughly to ensure transparency and fair distribution of resources. Many medical researchers believe that the verdict of this case could have a wider impact in generating awareness regarding racial and institutional discrimination globally. 

Please share your views regarding this case. Have you come across any incident of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, nationality, etc.?

Update: A spokesperson from KEMRI said its lawyers disagreed with the judgment, and that they would appeal it “shortly”.