“Harassed assistants”: African-born anti-immigrant lawmaker under investigation

The European Parliament has launched an investigation into allegations of harassment against Conservative MP Assita Kanko. Amid “mind games”, unreasonable demands and calls made in the middle of the night, some of his team decided to file a complaint, claiming they wanted to end the “culture of fear” created in their office by the Belgian MEP. .

Born in Burkina Faso, Kanko has been playing an active role in Belgian politics for over ten years, for which he became a naturalized citizen in 2008. N-Va’s Flemish nationalists adopt their hardline stance on immigration. Along with them, he was elected to the European Parliament in 2019 and sat in the ranks of the reformist Conservatives (ECR) of the European right, the same Italian Brotherhood group as Giorgia Meloni. As reported by Politico, 13 assistants have joined Kanko since his election, not counting trainees.

The source of the investigation is based on a harassment complaint filed in November 2022 by some staff. After a preliminary study by a parliamentary commission, the floor passed to the advisory committee, which deals specifically with such complaints. was replaced by a real investigation. Those who collaborated closely with Kanko allegedly provided a variety of evidence – including emails, messages and audio recordings – that testify to the “uninhabitable” environment in which they found themselves working. There were no weekends or other moments of affection for the MEP’s aides, “at any moment” Kanko could make a request “with the utmost urgency”. Even in the middle of the night, the phone rang many times, because the working hours for the MEP were unlimited, collaborators had to be ready at all times.

“He often made impossible orders and made inappropriate personal demands, there was a real culture of fear in his office,” said one former employee. Others spoke of the “mind games” played by the conservative MP: “He made you believe you were wrong even though you could prove otherwise (…) he made us work late into the night to perform and then replace the most pressing tasks. He blew our minds the next morning, failing all the effort, drove us crazy”. Staff also complained about the alleged lack of boundaries. In fact, several times Kanko would ask his collaborators to find food, babysit his son, and even run errands for him.

The complaint against the deputy came long after some facts were revealed that date back to his first term in office in 2019. Those involved claimed they wanted to, claiming that they spoke only years later because they “feared the consequences”. move on with their lives, at least until the situation becomes “unbearable”. Kanko said that “out of respect for the process and the parties” he would not comment on the allegations made against him while the investigation was ongoing.

Source: Today IT

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