Senators have expressed outrage over allegations of torture and killings of individuals suspected of stealing pineapples at the Del Monte farm in Kiambu and Murang’a counties.
This is even as the lawmakers launched investigations into the claims following multiple complaints from residents living near the plantation.
Raising the matter on the Senate floor, Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu alleged that guards manning the expansive farms have been meting out atrocities against residents.
He sought and obtained approval from the Speaker to dispatch the House Security committee to probe the incidents.
The committee, chaired by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, will seek to establish the number of reported cases of torture and killings of suspected trespassers at the farm since 2010.
“The committee should establish the findings of investigations by the DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations) into each case, including details of security guards found culpable, apprehended, and prosecuted,” Nyutu said.
He added that the team should also determine what steps Del Monte Kenya Limited has taken to ensure its security guards hand over suspects to police unharmed and whether the company intends to compensate families of those killed or injured.
The revelations sparked heated debate in the House, with lawmakers condemning the alleged atrocities.
Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo described the killings as “brutality that must not go unpunished.”
“If someone is suspected of stealing, the right thing is to take them to court and prosecute them—not to subject them to mob justice,” he said.
Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga likened the incidents to colonial-era practices.
“This is a very serious matter. The government must investigate and ensure proper measures are taken against those lynching innocent Kenyans. Even if they stole pineapples because they were hungry, that is not a reason to kill them. That is a misdemeanour, if it even goes to court,” he said.
He added: “I hope this will be the last killing. We should not hear of such heinous crimes being committed against Kenyans on Kenyan land by foreigners.”
Nominated Senator Esther Okenyuri said killing and maiming people was not a solution.
“Sadly, injustice keeps recurring because these are desperate Kenyans trying to earn a living, yet they end up being brutalised,” she said.
Her colleague Beatrice Ogolla took a harsher stance, saying: “If one has tortured and killed our people over pineapples, there must be a way for such culprits to face equal punishment.”
The controversy comes months after the High Court dismissed a petition against Del Monte over allegations of rights abuses—including killings and assaults—at its pineapple plantation.
Lady Justice Florence Muchemi ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, striking out both the petition and an accompanying application to amend it.
A rights group and community activists had been filed case, accusing Del Monte of responsibility for violent incidents allegedly committed by its security guards. Petitioners claimed residents crossing into the plantation were subjected to beatings, torture, rape and even murder.
They alleged that guards had been involved in multiple killings, with victims beaten, drowned in plantation dams, or their bodies dumped in nearby rivers.
The accusations come against the backdrop of a long-standing land ownership dispute between Del Monte and local communities, who insist the multinational’s 10,000-acre plantation sits on ancestral land.
