‘Woman lied she was kicked out of hotel for breastfeeding,’ says management

The management of Nairobi’s Olive Restaurant has refuted claims that they kicked a woman out of their premises for breastfeeding her baby.

In a press statement delivered at the restaurant’s Accra Road branch on Monday, the management now says the aggrieved woman, identified as Betty Kim, lied to the public as well as the media about what transpired.

“We have gone ahead to call for the lady known as Betty to come to us so that we can be in a position to effectively deal with this issue with complete information to no avail,” reads the statement.

The management has now denied Betty’s accusations that her meal was delayed for almost half an hour which caused her baby to get hungry and demand to be fed.

They also say it is completely false that it was during this said delay that she was ordered to go breastfeed her baby in the toilet but refused and, as a result, was thrown out of the hotel.

Referring to a CCTV video of the incident, Olive management has released its own chronology of events, saying, “Betty entered and sat at around 12:38pm and placed her order within a minute of sitting. Her food was delivered at 12:42pm, exactly 4 minutes after ordering.”

The restaurant further states that, contrary to Betty’s claim, no waiter addressed her between the time she made her order and when she was served.

“About 25 minutes after being served and beginning eating, she begins suckling her baby,” adds the statement.

“About 5 minutes into the activity, a waiter gestures to her where they engage for about 30 seconds after which there is a moment of eminent laughter and a long smile from her then she proceeds with her meal and does not leave the hotel as alleged.”

The statement further notes that Betty finished her meal a while after 1:30pm and then asked for a glass of hot water which she is served in a white cup.

“She pays her bill then leaves.”

The restaurant’s management, while denying any wrongdoing, adds that they will provide space to cater for breastfeeding mothers to avert any such incidences in the future.

Betty’s claim that she was kicked out the restaurant for breastfeeding her baby drew public uproar, leading to a major demonstration Women of Kenya on behalf of their children on Tuesday May 15, 2018.

The protesters marched from Freedom Corner through Parliament to the Accra Road restaurant where hotel manager, Moses K. Wambua apologised for the incident and promised that once identified, the offending employee will be fired.