Kakuzi taps ex-Safaricom chairman to lead board amid human rights row

Troubled agricultural firm Kakuzi has tapped Safaricom’s long serving chairman to steer its board amid a raging human rights abuse row that has seen it lose lucrative supply deals in the United Kingdom.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firm, which has been sued in the UK for alleged human rights abuses on its vast Kenyan plantations, has announced that Nicholas Ng’ang’a will replace board chairman Graham McLean who steps down from the role.

“Among his other roles, Nicholas Ng'ang'a was chairman of Safaricom, Kenya’s leading telecoms operator, from 2007 until 2020, and is current Chairman of Car & General Kenya Limited and G4S Security,” said Kakuzi in a public notice posted on its website and published in newspapers on Monday.

The Murang’a-based firm has also tapped ex-squatter and billionaire investor John Kibunga Kimani, who held a 30.3 per cent stake in the company in 2018, to its board. The move ends years-long calls by local shareholders for the Kakuzi board to enlist him on the firm's key decision-making organ on account of his large stake.

“Dr John Kimani has extensive experience in the agricultural sector (public and private) including planning, development and administration of small-holder agricultural extension programmes at district level, developing and managing small-holder irrigation projects and preparing long-range plans for land and water resources across Kenya. Notably, he led the planning team in the Tana and Athi River basins, embracing six districts of what were Central, Eastern and Coast provinces of Kenya,” the statement said.

The avocado producer looks set to tap the experience of the two men at a time a human rights row is taking an economic toll on the firm.

Human rights organ

Kakuzi also announced it had "beefed up" its "alternative dispute process" and set up an independent human rights advisory committee (IHRAC).

“The IHRAC will comprise experienced and distinguished individuals drawn from the human rights sector locally and internationally, and representatives of our stakeholders. Andrew Ndegwa Njoroge, a non-executive independent director of Kakuzi Plc, will sit on the IHRAC.

Through its Kent-based parent Camellia Plc, the company has been sued over allegations of assault and sexual misconduct allegedly conducted by employees. The UK-listed company owns 50.7 per cent of Kakuzi.

Law firm Leigh Day has said that 79 Kenyans had launched a legal claim in the High Court in London against Camellia for alleged human rights abuses by security guards employed by Kakuzi, its Kenyan subsidiary.

Camellia employs 78,000 people worldwide and says it is the largest avocado producer in Kenya, which, according to the International Trade Centre, is Africa’s biggest avocado exporter.

It’s operations in Africa include Kakuzi, Eastern Produce Kenya, Eastern Produce Malawi, Eastern Produce Cape (South Africa) and Eastern Produce Tanzania.

The allegations, dating from 2009 to January this year, include rapes, attacks on local villagers and a man being beaten to death, Leigh Day said.

But Kakuzi has rejected the claims made by Leigh Day, saying it did not “condone any criminal activities or behaviour by any of its employees”.

Suspended supply

The falling-out from human rights abuse claims against Kakuzi has escalated after three large European supermarket chains, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Lidl, suspended supplies by the agricultural firm.

UK’s Sainsbury’s and Germany’s discount grocer Lidl confirmed to the Nation that they had suspended any dealings with Kakuzi pending investigations into the allegations.

“Sainsbury’s will not accept further produce from Kakuzi until we are satisfied that the robust action plan in place addresses the issues that have been raised,” Sainsbury’s Corporate and Financial Communications Manager Sophie Praill said in an e-mailed comment to the Nation.

Separately, Lidl and Tesco said they had frozen orders for supplies by Kakuzi until the claims of rights abuses are investigated.

“Any form of human rights abuse in our supply chain is unacceptable. We have been working closely with the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), alongside other ETI members, to investigate this issue and ensure measures have been taken to protect workers,” Tesco had said.