NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court of Kenya has dismissed a petition against US multinational Del Monte over allegations of serious human rights violations, including killings and assaults, at its extensive pineapple plantation in the country.
The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, dealing a blow to local activists seeking accountability.
Lady Justice Florence Muchemi, in her ruling, also dismissed an accompanying application seeking to amend the petition, stating that it lacked merit.
“This court declared itself to lack jurisdiction to hear and determine the petition,” said Justice Muchemi. She further ordered that, given the case’s public interest nature, each party should bear its own legal costs.
The lawsuit, filed by a human rights group and local activists, accused Del Monte of responsibility for violent attacks allegedly carried out by its security personnel.
Delmonte Human Rights Case: Court rejects petition filed against Delmonte firm Company accused of violating human rights #CitizenBriefs @serfine_achieng
The petition detailed incidents of severe retaliation against locals who crossed into the plantation, including beatings, torture, sexual violence, and killings.
Among the most harrowing allegations were claims that Del Monte’s security guards had executed suspected trespassers, with reports of victims being beaten to death, drowned in plantation dams, or their bodies dumped in nearby rivers.
The accusations come amid a protracted land dispute between Del Monte and local communities, who argue that the company’s 10,000-acre plantation, located near Nairobi, sits on ancestral land.
The controversy has fueled longstanding tensions over land ownership and corporate accountability in the region.
Del Monte, one of Kenya’s largest employers with a workforce of 6,000, has categorically denied the allegations.
The company maintains that it operates within the law and has rejected claims that its security personnel have been involved in human rights violations.
