Kenyan Boss Shares How He Almost Fired "Lazy" Employee, Unaware He Was Caring for Sick Mum

• Kelvin Waga has shared a story about a junior employee who was always late, missed deadlines, and kept asking for salary advances
• Just as he was planning to fire him, a chance encounter outside a cancer centre revealed a heartbreaking truth that changed everything
• What Waga did next turned the young man into the company's best-performing employee, a powerful reminder that kindness, not punishment, can transform lives

When Coach Kelvin Waga took to social media to share a deeply personal encounter with one of his employees, he didn’t expect it to strike a chord with thousands.

But his raw and heartfelt account has since gone viral, highlighting the profound impact of empathy in leadership.

Waga nearly fired "lazy" employee

Waga began his post by sharing how he was on the verge of firing a junior staff member who had repeatedly arrived late, asked for salary advances, and missed deadlines.

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“He had used up all his chances,” the coach admitted, explaining that he had already issued warnings and stern talks.

Then one morning, en route to a meeting, Waga spotted something that made him pause.

A familiar-looking young man was pushing a frail woman in a wheelchair into a cancer treatment centre. It was his employee.

Waga's moment of transformation

Back at the office, the same man showed up, two hours late. Ready for what he assumed would be a termination, the employee appeared panicked when summoned.

“Are you okay?” Waga asked, choosing empathy over reprimand.

That simple question shattered the emotional dam. The man broke down in tears, finally revealing the burden he had been silently carrying: his mother’s battle with cancer.

Waga made a decision that many might not consider typical in a results-driven world—he gave the employee a full month’s salary and a month of paid leave.

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Waga's employee improved after mum's death

Two weeks later, the employee’s mother passed away. He returned quieter, more focused—changed.

“Two months later,” Waga shared, “he became the best performing employee on my team.”

The coach ended his post with a powerful message to leaders:

“Before you judge the lateness, the missed targets, the withdrawn silence—pause. Ask. Listen.”

The story ignited conversations on social media, with many lauding Waga for exemplifying what real leadership looks like: human, compassionate, and transformative.

Social media reactions

Last honor:

"I got fired after undergoing a dental surgery for my upper jaw (a teacher). My workmates told my boss I wasn't sick because I hardly showed them my pain."

Millyndinya

"This is me in November 2023. I am a teacher. I received a letter that my contract won't be renewed. My mum was sick, and after three days, I lost her."

Muresia4

"In December 2023, I was almost fired because of one of the colleagues who would tell the manager that mamangu sio mgonjwa, yet she couldn't walk or eat."

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Dedan:

"My former colleague was sacked one week after he shared his prostate cancer report with the management. We all cried. Some people are cruel."

Woman fired for calling male colleague ‘baby boy’

Elsewhere, a Nairobi court awarded KSh 1.5 million to a female lawyer who was fired over sexual harassment claims, saying her dismissal was unfair and violated proper procedures.

The judge found that the male colleague seemed to accept the nicknames, even when they were used in office chats and written on his birthday cake.

The woman's employer, Kituo Cha Sheria, was criticised for skipping internal disciplinary steps and denying the lawyer a fair chance to defend herself.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke