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A case of mistaken identity



The work of employees in my Department involved visiting places of employment to ensure there was compliance to the employment laws and employees were provided with decent wages and provided leave, holidays and other benefits provided by the laws. 


We had a register of all places of employment and Officers of the Department would cause regular visits to ensure compliance to the laws. The inspectorate of the Department was staffed mainly by male officers as female officers were thought to shun field work. But as the years rolled on trade unions started questioning the discriminatory practice. The Department had to engage a token number of female inspectors to satisfy the demands of trade unions and female groups. And it so happened that a female inspector was given a number of files to visit. One of her files was a seedy hotel. She was warned to exchange that file with other male officers but she was adamant and said she is world wise mature enough to face any challenges. 


So when she visited the hotel the employer provided her space in a room to complete her report. Half way through she heard a loud commotion outside and came out to find the cause of the commotion. The innkeeper was shouting at a customer. She inquired why he was scolding his customer and the innkeeper said the client mistook her for a call girl and was negotiating rates for her services. The female officer pulled out her shoe and threw it at the customer who was descending the staircase. 


The shoe hit the man squarely on his back. He turned round to see the female officer who had only one shoe, he picked up the one she had thrown and fled for dear life. He hid in an alley nearby to see if the female officer was following. She had not. He saw that the shoe was an expensive brand and would fetch a good price for a pair at the night market where he operates a second-hand shoe store. He decided to wait for the officer to discard her other shoe. Sure enough she came down wearing “Japanese slippers” that she used to visit the washroom and threw her other shoe into the bin.


The waiting customer jumped out from his hiding place and snatched the shoe which would provide him with lunch for a week if he disposed of it at the market where he displays his wares.

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