FIRESIDE CHATS WITH THE LEGAL GAL
In my previous article in the series, ‘Fireside Chats with the Legal Gal’, I wrote on my life & work across borders, specifically Tunisia, and how it expanded my professional scope in the legal profession. https://mmsadvocates.co.ke/life-work-across-borders-tunisia-edition/
Have a read, let us know what you think and what more you’d like to know about our work at MMS Advocates LLP and how we could be of service. Thank you.
I had only 1 and a half years in total in Arusha, Tanzania, to globetrot and experience a world that I only read in books. I was happy, content to a degree and working in the field I had studied for. But I was not prepared for what was ahead of me. I got seriously unwell; I had to go back to Nairobi and get treatment…then the one thing that no one had prepared us for happened. COVID-19.
In February 2020, I had to go back to Nairobi, and with the COVID restrictions on movement, interactions and no travelling, I couldn’t go back to Arusha. By the time it got to December, my contract had to be ended. So I went back in January 2021 to move out of the place I had called home away from home; sat in Nairobi as I was applying for new opportunities; plus, figure out how I was going to continue my life as Legal Gal.
Then, a call came in. A relative (I’m lucky to say there’s always someone in my corner) called to let me know they needed someone with my legal background, skills and experience to be a compliance officer. This is how in March 2021, I ended up as a consultant to the Managing Director in Evergreen Herbs Ltd. It was yet again, a new frontier – I had worked in all sectors that I could think of, but agribusiness was the last sector I thought I would be in. It did not take long for my legal skills to come in, and the Managing Director, Thomas Skaper, quickly took me from a consultant to an Acting HR Manager. By that time, there was a lot of restructuring I had to do in terms of the various departments on the farms, including establishing Standard Operating Procedures, organograms and having structured meetings between heads of departments, their supervisors, team leaders and the employees.
Before I knew it, the CEO of Agris Group, under which Evergreen Herbs operated as a subsidiary, came to the Athi River farm to speak to me. He wanted me to move onto group level. The hesitation was evident; because he assured me with my legal background, I’d be more effective to work with the other 3 subsidiary companies (Majestic Mushrooms, Evergreen Fresh and Evergreen Avocados). And so in January 2022, I moved to the Agris HQ in Karen. I had gotten used to the farm life, so being back behind a desk was a slight shock to my system. However, as in my previous articles, being behind a desk wasn’t something new. I started off with administrative duties, ensuring the CEO and CFO’s offices ran smoothly. Having the background from the CEO’s office at PALU, it was almost like I was back in Arusha.
Before I could blink, I was quickly promoted again. Maris, under which Agris is a division, required an ESG Manager to spearhead various tasks for the group. The job description? To be the ESG Manager who would report to the CEO, CFO and the Board of Agris and be responsible for all Environmental, Social & Governance aspects, matters and performance within the group. Basically, I would be fully responsible for ensuring that Environmental Social Management System (ESMS) requirements were included within day to day activities of the operational companies (OpCos).
So, yet again, I pivoted once more to take on a role that would grow my career. And me. Some of the tasks I undertook in my tenure included, but were definitely not limited to:
- Primary responsibility for all aspects of Environmental & Social Management across the group, according to International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance standards;
- Approving the operational companies’ specific Environment Social Management Systems’ (ESMS) objectives, targets, procedures and programmes;
- Ensuring full compliance with local regulations and international best practices across the group;
- Reviewing applicable E&S audit and inspection results and ensuring that corrective actions are taken;
- Ensuring the implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan within each company; and
- Collecting relevant data and provide quarterly E&S reporting on group and division level and providing input for the group’s quarterly and annual ESG reports.
It was a role that felt heavy to begin with, especially because I was dealing with hundreds of people at a time whenever I had to visit each individual operational company, but eventually I got the hang of it. I tapped into my experience of being outside the country, the places I had been and the people I had met since I began the journey of becoming Legal Gal. The role made me build an even thicker skin, as I was not used to being called ‘Madam’ or ‘Mkubwa’. Admittedly, I had held senior positions before, but this felt like being thrown into the ocean’s deep – and I could not swim. However, as with my other positions in the different workplaces I was privileged to be in, there was a team that was ready to hold my hand. They did not hesitate to help me navigate tough situations, especially when it came to dealing with national and local institutions in terms of legal & regulatory obligations.
But as all good things are, they eventually come to an end. I felt I had hit my glass ceiling by the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025. And I remembered that I had a job offer that had not expired. So I made a call to MMS Advocates, requested for an appointment and crossed my fingers. When the appointment was confirmed, I made my way to Upperhill, sat down with Allan Mwamuye Mzungu – and got my job offer from 2016 officially handed back to me. And here is where Legal Gal finally came home.
Kasichana Riziki Mumba is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, and an associate at MMS Advocates LLP. She is passionate about the rule of law, justice and creatively combining the world of artivism (art and activism), nature and ESG into her work.
