Funeral held in Kenya for TikTok content moderator following death in unclear circumstances

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A funeral was held on Thursday for a TikTok content moderator who died in unclear circumstances in Kenya last month.

Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi’s decomposed remains were found on March 7 at her apartment on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, three days after she failed to show up at work.

Olubunmi, 43, was employed as a TikTok content moderator subcontracted by a global outsourcing firm, Teleperformance. The Nigerian had complained of fatigue before her death, the cause of which has not been revealed.

Her death has underlined concerns about the poor working conditions for hundreds of content moderators and others working for tech corporations like TikTok and Facebook in African countries.

Content moderators working for subcontracted firms based in Kenya have in the past described working conditions that they say include lower than average pay, lack of mental health support, long working hours and intimidation.

More than 100 former Facebook content moderators have sued the social media company over what they say is poor pay and working conditions and unfair termination of employment.

Olubunmi had been living in Kenya since 2022 and only managed to travel back home once, despite having an annual return ticket benefit in her employment contract.

Colleagues said she was “desperate to go home” but was denied leave. Teleperformance Kenya said in a statement in March that she wasn’t denied leave to travel home. In a tribute, a company spokesperson described Olubunmi as “a selfless, compassionate and deeply caring individual.”

Among the mourners on Thursday was Olubunmi's elder brother, who travelled to Nairobi for the emotional ceremony. He was overcome by grief as friends and colleagues eulogized Olubunmi as “selfless.”

Tauheed Tayo Yakubu, a colleague of Olubunmi, described her as a champion for better working conditions, detailing how in November 2023 she staged a walkout for Nigerian colleagues demanding for valid work permits.

“She requested that every Nigerian leave the job immediately and then we all marched,” he said.

A representative from the Nigerian high commission attended the funeral, along with about 200 people from Olubunmi's workplace and the Nigerian community in Kenya.

Tauheed Tayo Yakubu, mourns during a funeral ceremony for Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at the Langata cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners listen during the funeral service of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners listen during the funeral service of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners bury the body of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at the Langata cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

The casket for Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A woman cries during a funeral ceremony for Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners carry the casket of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners sing during the funeral service of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners listen during the funeral service for Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at the Langata cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Mourners carry the casket of Nigerian Ladi Anzaki Olubunmi, a TikTok content moderator employed by subcontractor Teleperformance, at Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least five killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of open warfare between the regional foes that showed no sign of slowing.

One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, and its concussion caused minor damage, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. There were no injuries to American personnel.

Iran announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for Israel's sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure, which have killed at least 224 people in the country since last Friday.

The attacks raised Israel’s total death toll to at least 18, and in response the Israeli military said fighter jets had struck 10 command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.

Powerful explosions, likely from Israel’s defense systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn on Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city.

Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said that Iranian missiles had hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments.

The Israeli Magen David Adom emergency service reported that two women and two men — all in their 70s — and one other person were killed in the wave of missile attacks that struck four sites in central Israel.

“We clearly see that our civilians are being targeted,” said Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne outside the bombed-out building in Petah Tikva. “And this is just one scene. We have other sites like this near the coast, in the south.”

Petah Tikva resident Yoram Suki rushed with his family to a shelter after hearing an air raid alert, and emerged after it was over to find his apartment destroyed.

“Thank God we were OK,” the 60-year-old said.

Despite losing his home, he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep up the attacks on Iran.

“It's totally worth it,” he said. “This is for the sake of our children and grandchildren.”

In addition to those killed, the MDA said paramedics had evacuated another 87 wounded people to hospitals, including a 30-year-old woman in serious condition, while rescuers were still searching for residents trapped beneath the rubble of their homes.

“When we arrived at the scene of the rocket strike, we saw massive destruction,” said Dr. Gal Rosen, a paramedic with MDA who said he had rescued a 4-day-old baby as fires blazed from the building.

During an earlier barrage of Iranian missiles on central Israel on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same.

But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations to hit oil refineries and government buildings, the Revolutionary Guard struck a hard line on Monday, vowing that further rounds of strikes would be “more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones."

Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded in Iran, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians.

Rights groups, like the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group called Human Rights Activists, have suggested that the Iranian government’s death toll is a significant undercount. Human Rights Activists says it has documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians.

Israel argues that its assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003.

But Iran has enriched ever-larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.

Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem, Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

People evacuate after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

People evacuate after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)