Diplomat ruled to have sacked adviser for refusing sex

AN EMBASSY worker was sacked for refusing to have sex with a senior diplomat who pursued her for almost a year, an employment tribunal has found.

Solange Koffi, 48, repeatedly rejected the advances of Aly Touré while they worked together at the embassy of Ivory Coast in Belgravia, central London, the hearing was told.

Mrs Koffi, who was employed by Mr Touré as an adviser for five years, was allegedly warned she would be “done” if she spoke out against the diplomat.

After taking legal action against her former employers following her dismissal in March last year, an employment tribunal has ordered Mrs Koffi to receive £101,853 in compensation.

The Central London Employment Tribunal was told Mr Touré harassed Mrs Koffi for sex for almost a year in 2018, but she repeatedly rebuffed him.

She told how she “felt physically threatened” by Mr Touré in January last year when he gave her a dismissal letter, for which she refused to sign a receipt. She was sacked two months later after a final alleged proposition.

After losing her job, Mrs Koffi said she had struggled financially and her confidence had evaporated.

Officials at the branch of the Ivory Coast embassy were repeatedly invited to attend the tribunal and respond to Mrs Koffi’s claims. However, they failed to defend themselves or Mr Touré.

As a result, her claims of unfair dismissal and sex discrimination were accepted by the panel.

It concluded: “The treatment that [Mrs Koffi] received at the hands of [Mr Touré] was persistent and lasted almost a year. It was deliberate, and it led to her dismissal when she refused to submit to it.”