Kamahl Santamaria: New allegations of touching, messaging and kissing emerge from Al Jazeera

New accusations have been levelled against Kamahl Santamaria.
New accusations have been levelled against Kamahl Santamaria. Photo credit: Al Jazeera

Several new accusations of sexual harassment have been made against Kamahl Santamaria from his time in Al Jazeera's Doha newsroom in an investigation published by the BBC.

A number of current and former employees at Al Jazeera were interviewed about the former TVNZ Breakfast host by journalist Suranjana Tewari.

Among the allegations are accounts of Santamaria kissing colleagues without consent, touching them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable and sending inappropriate messages.

They come after previous allegations following Santamaria's abrupt exit from TVNZ and subsequently the resignation of the network's head of news and current affairs, Paul Yurisich.      

Santamaria has been approached for comment by Newshub about the latest allegations but has not replied.

Last week, he released a statement about allegations about to emerge via the BBC, in which he apologised for "any and all behaviour that may have made anyone feel uncomfortable at any time".  

The BBC report also includes complaints Al Jazeera fostered "a toxic work culture where complaints of harassment, sexism, bullying and racism largely go unaddressed".

The company was sent a list of the 22 allegations uncovered, which were levelled at both Santamaria and Al Jazeera itself. At the time of publishing, the BBC had not received a reply to each complaint.

Al Jazeera instead released a statement saying it "considers its staff across the world the backbone and foundation of the company - their safety and wellbeing are of utmost importance". It added: "As an international organisation with over 95 nationalities, we continually strive to build a healthy and constructive work environment for all."

Newshub has approached Al Jazeera for further comment.

One complainant, a young producer at Al Jazeera, shared messages with the BBC, claiming Santamaria would message her on Twitter, saying things like he was "always available for a cuddle".

"Then came the touching in the office. A hand on the shoulder, a weird hug, and the worst: the kiss on the cheek. On more than one occasion I had to go to the bathroom to wipe Kamahl's saliva from my face," the BBC reported her as saying.

The BBC also said a colleague and mid-level manager had been told of the accusations, but nothing had happened.

More than one person the BBC say they spoke to said Santamaria made comments about his co-host's breasts.

One male employee who is still with Al Jazeera told the BBC he was kissed on the mouth "uninvited" by Santamaria and it was witnessed by a news editor in the newsroom.

Another producer claimed she was kissed on the neck in front of "multiple people".

"I felt so embarrassed and mortified and really worried that people would think I was involved with him or trying to be - I was still making friends, didn't have anyone in management that I could've talked to about it," she told the BBC.

Further complaints against Santamaria accused him of trying to hug a woman in the newsroom, making sexual comments and sending inappropriate texts.

One woman said she suffered a panic attack hearing about the complaints against the host, saying she'd reported him six years ago and she was shocked nothing had been done.

Santamaria resigned from his role as TVNZ Breakfast presenter in May, just 32 days after he started.

In his statement last week, he said: "It has been mortifying to discover my actions have caused people to feel uncomfortable around me.

"What I've come to understand is that what I previously considered to be flirtatious, over-friendly, 'just a bit of banter', or simply within the bounds of acceptable in the prevailing newsroom culture was, in fact, not.  As a journalist, and a person, I should have done better. I should have been better," Santamaria said on his official website.

"At this stage, I have no further comment to make and would ask that members of the media stop coming to my home, and the homes of my family members."