"Sh696m payout for Kakuzi rights violation victims"

The parent company of Kakuzi , Camellia Plc, has paid Sh696 million to settle claims of alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by employees in its Kenyan agricultural operation. The amount includes payouts to victims of alleged violence and rape as well as remedial investments in the local community in Murang’a County where Kakuzi runs its agricultural business.

The multinational also paid Sh348 million to settle similar allegations brought against its Malawian subsidiary, Eastern Produce Malawi (EPM), raising its total spend on the human rights row to Sh1 billion. “These claims have now been resolved at settlements costing up to £4.6 million (Sh696 million) in relation to the Kenyan claims, and £2.3 million (Sh348 million) in relation to the Malawian claims,” Kent-based Camellia said in a trading update. The settlement, the multinational added, clears the path for investigations into the allegations and prosecution of any individual offenders found culpable...

As part of the deal, Leigh Day has agreed not to bring or support any further claims against any part of the Camellia Group in connection with their operations in Kenya, “for a substantial period.” The multinational decided to settle to limit its exposure in the dispute. It had already spent more than Sh500 million in legal fees which it said would be difficult to recover from the petitioners even if it won the case.