Digital Technologies, Exploitation, and Accountability: Unveiling the Role of Technology in Modern Slavery Within Kenya's Smallholder Tea Sector

This paper explores how digital technologies influence modern slavery in Kenya’s smallholder tea sector by shaping exploitation, concealing abuses, and challenging accountability. Using a qualitative, single-case design, the study engaged 83 participants through interviews and focus groups. Smallholder farmers and former employees were selected via purposive and snowball sampling, and thematic analysis revealed how technology exacerbates labour exploitation in the sector. The findings reveal that modern technologies in Kenya's smallholder tea sector worsen exploitation through mechanisms such as debt bondage, mechanisation, and flawed digital systems. Automated loan deductions and reduced pay for casual workers trap farmers in debt, while digital tools obscure abuse and limit transparency. Weak accountability mechanisms exacerbate workers’ vulnerability, leaving them exposed to ongoing exploitation and financial insecurity. This study highlights how digital technologies, though intended to improve efficiency, can unintentionally conceal or exacerbate modern slavery, providing valuable insights for guiding more equitable tech use and strengthening accountability in vulnerable agricultural economies. The paper addresses a critical gap in empirical research by exploring how digital technologies in Kenya's smallholder tea sector can both obscure and expose modern slavery, advancing our understanding of the intersection between technology, labour exploitation, and accountability in rural contexts.