The workers were trying to protect themselves from the assault.
A video claiming to show a Chinese man whipping African workers has gained massive traction on social media. In the accompanying caption, journalist Dom Lucre, who shared the video on X, wrote the employees are being treated like "trans-Atlantic slaves". In the clip, the employees are sitting in what looks like a container and the Chinese man is yelling at them. He then takes out a stick and starts mercilessly beating the workers who cover their heads to avoid any serious injury.
Watch the video:
NDTV cannot verify the authenticity of the video that has received nearly 12 million views and sparked a debate around racism and slavery.
Mr Lucre has said in the caption that Chinese are "far more racist than the White man in Africa".
"Everyone rails against America while completely ignoring the human rights abuses going on all over the world," commented one user. "Every race has owned slaves, and every race has evil people among them. It's time for all the good people, who make up the majority in each race, to stand together against those in all races who are evil," said another.
"You don't beat your employees and those are just boys. It is sick and disgusting!" a third user said.
This is not the first time that such incidents have been reported. In April last year, news agency ANI carried a report that highlighted the ill treatment of African workers by Chinese project managers.
Quoting Geneva Daily, the news agency said that local workers in Africa are abused and forcefully made to work under dire conditions and given wages that are way below contract pay.
The report also said that these employees are often made to work for long hours.
In 2022, a court in the central African country of Rwanda sentenced Chinese man Sun Shujun to 20 years in jail after a video of him whipping a worker spread across the internet.
The case angered many Africans. Following the decision, the Chinese embassy in the Rwandan capital of Kigali made a rare statement. It warned its citizens in Rwanda to follow local laws.
A year before that, a Kenyan worker was awarded more than $25,000 by a court after he was beaten by his Chinese restaurant employer.
China has cultivated trade partnership with African nations, which are known for their rich mineral resources.