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By Duncan Miriri and Kanishka Singh
NAIROBI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Kenyan food producer Kakuzi
has asked the chief prosecutor to investigate alleged
crimes on its estates, a day after British retailer Tesco
suspended supplies from the avocados to macadamia nuts
firm.
Law firm Leigh Day said on Sunday that 79 Kenyans had
launched a legal claim in the High Court in London against
Camellia Plc for alleged human rights abuses by
security guards employed by Kakuzi, its Kenyan subsidiary.
The allegations, dating from 2009 to January this year,
include rapes, attacks on local villagers and a man being beaten
to death, Leigh Day said in a statement.
"Kakuzi does not condone any criminal activities or
behaviour by any of its employees and to this end we have
requested the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to
investigate the allegations of criminality and take action in
accordance with the law," the Kenyan company said in a statement
on its website.
Noordin Haji, Kenya's director of public prosecutions, did
not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Camellia, which bought a 50.7% stake in Kakuzi in the 1990s,
said in a statement it expected the Kenyan firm to "ensure that
all allegations are urgently and exhaustively examined (and)
that justice is served if wrongdoing is uncovered."
Tesco said on Sunday it had suspended all supplies from
Kakuzi.
"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", a spokesman said.
Kakuzi also produces tea, pineapples and rears livestock on
its vast estates in central Kenya.
(Additional reporting by Sucharita Ganguly and Maggie Fick;
Editing by Mark Potter)
