Vincent Palan is a pervert who is obsessed with ‘bums’, says another alleged victim of the Game Stores manager’s sexual harassment.
And Palan yesterday failed to appear in court on charges of sexual harassment due to the absence of a docket.
Recco Shula, an employee of Game Stores, said Palan was obsessed with her buttocks and on many occasions tried to “squeeze” them.
Shula said she was afraid to speak out earlier but after the appeal by gender minister Inonge Wina for those who may have suffered sexual harassment at the hands of Palan to report the matter, she decided to speak about her ordeal.
“He has a fetish for bums. That man was obsessed with my bums and told me he wanted to squeeze my bums; and every time I would pass, he attempted to ‘tap’ my behind, but I would not allow it. He is a very perverted man; you should have seen his face when he told me he wanted to squeeze my a**. He had this look that just shows perversion,” she said.
Shula said Palan even gave her a nickname because of her structure.
“Every time I would pass, he would say ‘There goes cargo’ in reference to my behind. I would not say anything but I found it very offensive,” she said.
Shula said on one occasion, Palan told her outright that he wanted to caress her behind.
“There was an incident when I was working at the jewellery counter and then Mr Palan came through. He was checking for some stock and he passed a comment and said, ‘Recco, these bums I can squeeze them only if you allow me’ and he even tried to touch me, but I stopped him. I turned and told him; ‘Unfortunately, I do not share men’ because he is married and I have someone,” she said.
Shula said after she turned down Palan on a number of occasions, he then began to verbally abuse her and ensured that she never got any promotion.
“There was a job I was eyeing and everyone thought I would get it; I knew I deserved it and almost everyone thought I would get it but because I told him no, Palan gave the job to someone else and clearly made me know that it was because I refused his advances. He even told me that because I had kept to myself, my job in Game would be a living hell,” she said.
“At Game, you will find some of the girls who were rumoured to be sleeping with him ended up with promotions or he would create positions for them.”
Shula said working under Palan had been “a living hell” but she stayed on because she was a widow with two children.
“He made me feel stupid and if I had a way, I would have left Game Stores. Imagine I am a mother and I only continued to work in such an environment because I have to support my children. People think we have good conditions, we do not. Our conditions are very bad and even staying in Game is only to make ends meet. That man is heartless. I was scared to speak against him but it is not right; he took advantage of my vulnerability and threatened to get rid of me so many times,” she said.
Shula said after Mukamuluti Mwila reported the matter, Palan went around telling everyone he was well connected with the Ministry of Labour and that nothing could happen to him and challenged people to fight him.
Following Mwila’s revelations of alleged sexual harassment by Palan, another former Game Stores employee Nasutu Munalula, disclosed that the store manager squeezed her buttocks and attempted to touch her private parts at a warehouse.
Palan, who was arrested and charged with sexual harassment following Mwila’s allegations, was scheduled to appear in court but did not because there was no docket.
The suspect, however, showed up at the court premises between 08:00 hours and 09:00 hours and was in the car park for some time.
Palan was in a white Toyota Noah in the company of several people.
Sources told The Post that Palan’s case could not take off because police were still investigating the matter.
A handful of women activists who wanted to witness Palan’s appearance in court expressed disappointment over his non-appearance.
The women, who arrived at the Magistrates’ Court Complex around 08:30 hours, eagerly waited for Palan’s appearance but left after the case failed to take off.
The women were carrying placards with messages denouncing sexual harassment and advocating safe workplaces for women, among others.
And speaking on behalf of other women, Dorika Phiri said the women movement went to court to offer solidarity to all alleged victims of Palan’s sexual harassment.
Phiri said it was sad that most women were not safe in their workplaces and demanded to know what the government was doing to protect them.