Dr John Kibunga Kimani Non-Executive Director Kakuzi Plc. Until recently, only a select few could put a face to the name of billionaire investor John Kibunga Kimani.
But when human rights abuse allegations rocked Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Kakuzi, where he is the second-largest shareholder with a 32.2 per cent stake, curiosity about the man behind the name rose.
Dr Kimani is also one of the single-largest investors in most blue-chip stocks at the NSE, with his shareholding in these companies alone valued at more than Sh1 billion.
Besides Kakuzi, he has shares in East African Breweries, Safaricom, Nation Media Group and Centum.
In November last year, Kakuzi announced changes to its board in a shake-up that saw Kimani appointed as a non-executive director. Read More
And for a long while, his photo icon on the company’s website remained a stock image silhouette, which fuelled public speculation about what the shrewd investor looked like.
The other seven individuals who make up the board of directors of Kakuzi all had photos of their smiling faces on the website. These included executive, non-executive and independent directors.
As a listed entity, shareholders prefer to be able to put a face to those involved in overseeing the affairs of the company.
It is perhaps against this backdrop that Kimani recently yielded to having his photo uploaded on the firm’s website.
It is one of a clean-cut, bespectacled man donning a beige suit and a wide smile.
So who exactly is Kimani? And how did he become such a big investor at Kakuzi and other blue-chip NSE firms?Adding to his mystery is the many years it has taken Kakuzi’s largest individual shareholder to be given a director’s seat. Did he not want it?Available information says Kimani was born into a squatter family at the expansive Kakuzi farms. This strong societal ties are believed to be his driving force in acquiring shares in Kakuzi, which is estimated to sit on more than 39,000 acres in the south of Murang’a.Kimani is believed to have backed squatters, helping them own shares at Kakuzi, even it meant reducing his own stake in the firm.The move has seen the squatters make it into the top 10 list of Kakuzi shareholders in just a few years.The firm’s share price closed trading last week at Sh370. Academic qualifications Kimani’s passion for agriculture is clear from by his impressive academic background and career in public and private practice.He holds an undergraduate degree […]