Two of the world’s largest tobacco companies — British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Brands — are facing a major lawsuit in the UK High Court, accused of profiting from child and forced labour on farms in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest nations.
Filed by thousands of tenant farmers and their families, the claim alleges that BAT and Imperial knowingly benefited from a system that traps rural workers in debt bondage, forcing them and their children to toil long hours in dangerous conditions for little or no pay.
According to the lawsuit, farmers — often recruited under threats or economic pressure — must work from dawn to midnight, building their own shelters from mud and straw, and surviving on minimal food. Entire families, including children as young as three, are compelled to work to meet production targets. Many farmers end the season deep in debt, with some reportedly driven to sell their daughters to repay loans.
The legal action argues that the companies’ operations breach Malawian labour laws, the UK Modern Slavery Act, and international conventions prohibiting child labour and human exploitation. Lawyers representing the claimants describe the situation as a form of modern slavery, noting that the farmers’ meagre earnings contrast sharply with BAT’s £8.3 billion and Imperial’s £1.6 billion pre-tax profits in 2019.
The claimants also accuse the tobacco giants of using so-called ethical sourcing programs as “whitewashing” schemes, designed to mask ongoing abuses rather than prevent them.
“This is a classic case of modern-day slavery,” said Oliver Holland of Leigh Day, the law firm representing the farmers. “Our clients live in desperate conditions while multinational corporations profit from their suffering.”
