Nelly
Member
Agricultural firm Kakuzi spent Sh137.4 million on lawyers in the year ended December to defend itself against charges that its employees carried out human rights abuses including rape and violence.
The expense is disclosed in the company’s latest annual report. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm, alongside its parent company Camellia Plc, was sued in the United Kingdom by law firm Leigh Day which represented victims in Kenya and Malawi.
Camellia owns a 50.7 percent stake in Kakuzi, giving it control of the company. Kakuzi was later dropped from the case but had already incurred substantial legal costs.
“The exceptional legal expenses are legal costs incurred both in Kenya and the UK by the company defending itself from legal claims brought against it … by a UK law firm which wanted to bring the company into the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom,” Kakuzi says in the report.
The firm’s sales rose by a quarter to Sh3.6 billion but costs went up by even larger margins, resulting in the reduced profit. Despite the weaker earnings, Kakuzi declared a larger dividend of Sh18 per share, raising it from Sh14 per share paid on the results for the year before.
The expense is disclosed in the company’s latest annual report. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm, alongside its parent company Camellia Plc, was sued in the United Kingdom by law firm Leigh Day which represented victims in Kenya and Malawi.
Camellia owns a 50.7 percent stake in Kakuzi, giving it control of the company. Kakuzi was later dropped from the case but had already incurred substantial legal costs.
“The exceptional legal expenses are legal costs incurred both in Kenya and the UK by the company defending itself from legal claims brought against it … by a UK law firm which wanted to bring the company into the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom,” Kakuzi says in the report.
The firm’s sales rose by a quarter to Sh3.6 billion but costs went up by even larger margins, resulting in the reduced profit. Despite the weaker earnings, Kakuzi declared a larger dividend of Sh18 per share, raising it from Sh14 per share paid on the results for the year before.