Janet Olufunke Damiro, a 71-year-old Nigerian grandmother, has been dismissed from her cleaning job at the London School of Economics after being accused of stealing a bracelet — an item she says she simply forgot to hand in.
According to Metro UK, which reported the case on Thursday, Damiro moved to the United Kingdom from Nigeria in 1971 and had worked at LSE for 13 years.
She explained that she found a gold bracelet during her shift and placed it in her purse, intending to hand it in later.
When questioned by management three days later, she returned the bracelet but was still suspended and eventually dismissed in April for gross misconduct.
“I can’t sleep. I have never had a bad record or been to HR before in my life,” Damiro said. “LSE have treated me really badly. It was my only job, and I loved working there. I never expected to be suspended or dismissed.
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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 written to the LSE management in support of her, insisting on her honesty and professionalism.
“Janet has always conducted herself with integrity and consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic,” their letter stated.
Her trade union, United Voices of the World (UVW), has appealed the dismissal and criticised how the university handled the case. Speaking with UVW, 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?”
The university has declined to comment publicly, citing the ongoing nature of the case.
Meanwhile, LSE students have launched a petition calling for her reinstatement and describing the punishment as “deeply disturbing” for what they believe was a “minor mistake.”
An appeal hearing initially scheduled for 22 May was postponed, with a new date now set for later in June.
