\n<\/p>\n
An extraordinary row has broken out at Oxfam over the treatment of its outgoing chief executive.<\/p>\n
Halima Begum had left the organisation, it confirmed on Monday, amid claim and counterclaim of bullying \u2013 with a split emerging among members of its board of trustees.<\/p>\n
Reports first emerged on Sunday that trustees had unanimously decided Begum should go after an independent review \u2013 commissioned following complaints by current and former staff \u2013 painted a damaging picture of senior Oxfam GB leadership.<\/p>\n
But on Monday a member of that same board denied this, saying: \u201cOxfam believes in and values kindness, justice and fairness. Sadly, Halima\u2019s treatment has been anything but kind, just or fair.\u201d Sources suggested that, rather than being sacked, Begum had resigned.<\/p>\n
According to the Times, which first reported Begum\u2019s departure, Oxfam said the trustees had commissioned an external review of Begum\u2019s conduct that drew on testimony from 32 current and former Oxfam employees, as well as documentary evidence.<\/p>\n
The paper quoted an Oxfam spokesperson saying the review had identified \u201cserious issues in the CEO\u2019s leadership behaviour and her decision-making, including breaches of organisational processes and values and inappropriate interference into safeguarding and integrity investigations\u201d. It quoted the charity as saying: \u201cThe report\u2019s findings have led the board to the conclusion that there is an irretrievable breakdown in its trust and confidence in Dr Begum\u2019s ability to discharge the role of chief executive officer to the level required in Oxfam GB, and that her ongoing employment is untenable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The original reports said Oxfam had said its board unanimously passed a resolution to this effect on Friday and Begum \u201chas therefore left the organisation\u201d. But Dr Balwant Singh, a trustee of Oxfam GB since November 2022, said the statement made on behalf of the board had not been shared with him, and did not \u201creflect my views as a trustee\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe person(s) who contacted the media and shared information and details that were confidential was apparently seeking to destroy Halima and her reputation, and to worsen the crises Oxfam is already facing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the findings of the investigation had not been shared with Begum and she had not been given a right of reply. By Monday morning, Oxfam was relying on a much shorter statement that confirmed Begum\u2019s departure without specifying whether she had walked or been pushed.<\/p>\n
The Times reported that staff had urged the board to investigate Begum. In a letter, dozens said a restructuring of the organisation she led had created \u201cwidespread animosity\u201d. They claimed it created an \u201cintense climate of fear\u201d that had become \u201cdeeply rooted in Oxfam, including a very real fear of retribution from senior management\u201d.<\/p>\n
But Singh said: \u201cWhilst many of those who raised concerns about Halima\u2019s leadership hid behind anonymity by claiming fear of retribution and retaliation, it is sickening that Halima has been subjected to what appears to be a carefully orchestrated and intentionally brutal retaliation and retribution in the national media.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to Singh\u2019s comments, an Oxfam spokesperson said: \u201cWhilst it would be inappropriate to comment on individual circumstances, Oxfam acknowledges that, like many organisations, we operate in a world where racism and racial injustice persist, and we acknowledge that there is more work to do in OGB [Oxfam GB] on inclusion, equity, and culture. The board is committed to that work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take seriously the voices of colleagues who may have experienced racialised bias or harm. These accounts help guide our ongoing efforts to strengthen accountability, fairness, and support across the organisation. Our commitment to racial justice and equality for our colleagues and communities we work with around the world remains unwavering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence Davies of Equal Justice solicitors, representing Begum, said: \u201cOur client alleges that she was subjected to, and continues to be subjected to, a victimising witch-hunt. The truth of what actually happened will be revealed in due course.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur client has whistleblown to the Charity Commission about various public interest matters which we assume are now being investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An extraordinary row has broken out at Oxfam over the treatment of its outgoing chief executive. Halima Begum had left the organisation, it confirmed on Monday, amid claim and counterclaim of bullying \u2013 with a split emerging among members of its board of trustees. Reports first emerged on Sunday that trustees had unanimously decided Begum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[20782,2579,689,18829,3298,20781,17150,20780],"class_list":{"0":"post-37672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-begum","9":"tag-breaks","10":"tag-chief","11":"tag-departure","12":"tag-executive","13":"tag-halima","14":"tag-infighting","15":"tag-oxfam"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}