Former AG Prof Githu Muigai to head a body
that will advise Kakuzi on Human Rights
By The Mountain Journal Crew
Kakuzi PLC becomes the first corporate organization in Sub Sahara Africa
to constitute and establish such an independent advisory panel benchmarked
against the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The board has appointed former Attorney
General Prof Githu Muigai to chair IHRAC,
to support the growth of the organization progressively adopting the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, such as football governing body FIFA,
Global Chemicals manufacturer BASF SE, Adidas, among others.
Speaking when he confirmed the appointment of
the IHRAC, Kakuzi PLC Managing Director Chris Flowers said the committee would
provide independent technical advisory to the firm’s Board of Directors.
Flowers said
such technical advisory and expertise would guarantee sustainable compliance
with global human rights matters across the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)
listed firm’s operations.
The MD
explained that alongside the IHRAC body,
the company has also enacted an
Operational-level Grievance Mechanism also benchmarked against the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Members of
IHRC are Prof Githu, a former member of the board at the Independent Policing
Oversight Authority (IPOA) Grace Madoka, former Finlays Kenya Legal and HR
Director Dr. Brenda Achieng, and Kakuzi Plc None Executive Independent Director Mr
Andrew Ndegwa.
Another member to sit in the IHRC will be named soon.
Madoka and
Dr Achieng are Advocates of the High Court of Kenya and have extensive
corporate governance experience, while Mr Ndegwa is a Chartered Accountant.
“As part of
our core values, the Board of Kakuzi PLC is sincerely committed and desirous of
strengthening end-to-end efforts to ensure that human rights are respected in
all our operations. The appointment of this IHRAC committee underscores this
commitment to voluntarily protect, respect and remedy any human rights
grievances as responsible business practices,” Mr Flowers said.
IHRAC
Chairman on his part said the Company is pioneering a public accountability
programme demonstrating its commitment to respecting human rights within its
operating and supply chain environment.
The members
of the IHRAC, he further said are meant to autonomously advise and review
Kakuzi’s action points to ensure that the firm remains at the leading edge of
this accountability programme.
“Above all
else, adopting an IHRAC is advantageous to all stakeholders. Human rights
standards are fundamental standards that lead to better business
accountability,” said Githu.
He explained
that adoption of IHRAC is an idea whose time has come and one that should be
strongly is recommended.
Adoption of
the IHRAC standards benchmarked against the United Nations Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights, he said, such a committee is advantageous to all
stakeholders, including government, business, civil society, and even to the
people working within the enterprises.
The UN
Working Group on Business and Human Rights recently released an assessment of
the first ten years of UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
implementation by States and businesses.
The UN Working
Group noted that: “There has been significant progress over the first decade,
as witnessed by a growing number of companies committing to respect human
rights and a recent surge of legislation in Europe making respect for human
rights and the environment a mandatory requirement for businesses.”
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