Del Monte Kenya Farm Security Guards Accused of Fatal Violence

Former security officers at Del Monte’s vast pineapple plantation near Thika have come forward with serious accusations of violence, including killings, rapes, and brutal beatings, sparking renewed scrutiny of the farm’s human rights record. In a candid interview, one ex-guard said, I saw many people suffer , alleging that undertrained staff often resorted to excessive force against suspected pineapple thieves. These revelations follow years of tension between the company’s in-house security team and members of the surrounding community. The Guardian+2The Guardian+2
The violence is said to stem partly from Del Monte’s long-running struggle with organised theft on its 40 km² plantation, where unprotected public roads run through fields and people from nearby villages regularly enter to pick pineapples. The Guardian+1 Former guards told the Guardian that some senior security personnel were complicit in profiting from the very theft they were meant to prevent. The Guardian In response to mounting civil claims—including accusations of murder and rape—Del Monte replaced its 214 internal guards with a G4S-contracted team and introduced training changes based on a human rights impact assessment. The Guardian+2The Guardian+2
Reactions have been strong. Kenya’s National Human Rights Commission launched a probe into alleged killings, while families of deceased men have pushed for justice. The Guardian+2The Guardian+2 Civil society groups argue that the shift to G4S oversight is too little, too late, calling for more robust protection and accountability. Del Monte, on its part, insists it takes the allegations extremely seriously and has committed to better engagement with affected communities. The Guardian+2The Guardian+2
Looking ahead, the case could set an important precedent for corporate accountability in Kenya’s agribusiness sector. Legal teams representing victims are pushing for a broader settlement, while human rights advocates call for systemic reforms around security operations at export farms. Del Monte’s future in the country may well depend on how convincingly it can rebuild trust with the communities it operates in.