Former Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a’s stunning career at the helm of one of the top global corporates could be headed for a nosedive after he assumed new mandate as the chairman of the reputation eroded Kakuzi PLC.
In a statement, Ng’ang’a was appointed to chair the Kakuzi board with immediate effect.
He succeeds over Graham Mclean who bowed out of the role.
However, he will serve on as a non-executive director.
At the same time, Kakuzi has appointed Dr Kibunga Kimani, one of the company’s largest individual shareholders to it’s board.
Kakuzi is battling a judicial litigation in London over allegations of labour violations, killings, rape, attacks and false imprisonments in Kenya.
The abuses as said to have occurred between 2009 and 2020.
The case against the multinational company, majority-owned by UK-based Camellia, has been brought with the support of the Kenyan Human Rights Commission and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) represented by law firm Leigh Day.
Britain’s biggest grocery retailer, Tesco, has since suspended the supply of avocados from a vast Kenyan plantation operation.
Tesco announced the move after Leigh Day said it had initiated legal action against UK firm Camellia, whose subsidiary runs the site.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “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.
Kakuzi PLC is a listed Kenyan agricultural company trading on both the Nairobi and London Stock Exchange engaging in the cultivation, processing and marketing of avocados, blueberries, macadamia, tea, livestock and commercial forestry.