Kenya: Kakuzi sued in UK over alleged human rights abuses

BY VICTOR JUMA, BUSINESS DAILY

September 15, 2020

Agricultural firm Kakuzi  has been sued in the United Kingdom for alleged human rights abuses, exposing the company to the risk of hefty fines and reparations to the victims.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm is already incurring costs of defending itself in the UK legal system.

The matter was first disclosed by its Kent-based parent company Camellia Plc which said it had been sued over assault and sexual misconduct conducted by employees in its African operations but did not mention Kakuzi specifically.

Kakuzi now says it is among the parties sued in the UK. “The company is also defending itself from a UK legal firm who wishes to bring Kakuzi into the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom,” Kakuzi’s chairman Graham Mclean says in the company’s interim report.

“The costs of this action to June 30, 2020 are included in the half year results,” he added without saying how much the firm spent in legal costs in the review period.