A 71-year-old Nigerian woman, Janet Olufunke Damiro, has been sacked from her cleaning job at the London School of Economics after being accused of stealing a bracelet during her shift.
Damiro, who moved to the UK from Nigeria in 1971, had worked at LSE for 13 years before she was dismissed in April for what the school called “gross misconduct.”
According to a report by Metro UK, the grandmother found a gold bracelet while cleaning and placed it in her purse with the intention of handing it in later. She said she forgot it was there and only returned it three days later when the management asked about it.
Despite this, Damiro was suspended and later dismissed.
“I can’t sleep. I have never had a bad record or been to HR before in my life,” she told *Metro*. “LSE have treated me really badly. It was my only job, and I loved working there. I never expected to be suspended or dismissed.”
“I did not steal this thing. If I see any items, I always hand them over. This is the first time in my life I have had a problem like this since I came to this country. It is really bugging me.”
Over 70 of her colleagues, including three supervisors, have signed a letter to the school defending Damiro’s character and work ethic.
“Janet has always conducted herself with integrity and consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic,” the letter said.
Her trade union, United Voices of the World, has appealed the dismissal and criticised LSE’s handling of the matter.
In a statement on the union’s website, Damiro said, “I don’t steal. I’m not a thief. I’ve worked at LSE for over 10 years without any problems. I just forgot. At my age, you can forget like that.”
“They look at me like I’m a thief. It’s unfair. I’ve not been myself at all, I don’t sleep at night. I don’t have a job now, but I have to pay my rent and bills. Who’s going to employ me at this age?”
LSE has declined to make a public comment, saying the case is still being reviewed.
Meanwhile, LSE students have started a petition calling for Damiro to be reinstated. They described her punishment as “deeply disturbing” and said it was too harsh for what appeared to be a minor mistake.
An appeal hearing for Damiro’s case was originally scheduled for May 22 but has been moved to a new date later in June.
