New appointment at Safaricom board
Mr. Adil Khawaja (MBS) has been appointed the Chairman of the Board of Safaricom PLC, having been appointed director at the same entity earlier.
Mr. Khawaja currently serves as the Managing Partner at Dentons Hamilton Harrison & Mathews, and is a leading name in the real estate, environmental and planning industry, and commercial litigation and dispute resolution circles. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Sheffield and also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
Mr. Khawaja has advised high-net-worth clients including the Government of Kenya. His stellar service has seen him receive local and international plaudits. Notably, he is a recipient of the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) awarded by the President, and the recognition by a leading UK legal research firm, Legalease Ltd, in its annual publication ‘The Legal 500.’
Mr. Khawaja is also active in the wildlife and environmental conservation space. He is an executive member of the Nairobi Arboretum Conservancy Community Forest Association. He has also served as a director on the National Environment Council, a Trustee to the Friends of Conservation and Care for Wild Kenya, as well as the Kenya Wildlife Service. Additionally, he presently sits on various boards, among them; Rhino Ark Charitable Trust, Al Futtaim Automotive – CMC Motors Group Limited, and Atua Enkop Africa Limited.
He previously served as a director of KCB Bank Group from 2012 before being elected the first Chairman of KCB Bank Kenya Limited in 2016 and served until his tenure ended in 2020. Mr. Khawaja, similarly, also served as a director on the board of Kenya Power & Lighting Company and as a Trustee of the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Outside the legal and normal work schedule parlance, Mr. Khawaja is an avid enthusiast of four-wheel driving; he has combined his love for the thrill with conservation and has been a participant in the Rhino Charge for nearly 20 years and amongst the top fund raisers for the Rhino Ark, where he has been a Trustee from 2018 to date.