The African Center for Corrective and Preventive Action (ACCPA) on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Kenya's High Court against Del Monte Kenya Ltd, a subsidiary of American agricultural giant Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, saying that the local people living near the company's pineapple plantation are being regularly harassed and even killed by Del Monte security guards for violations such as stealing fruit.
As Kenyan authorities launch investigations into several murders involving Del Monte's security guards, ACCPA, a Kenya-based non-governmental organization, is suing the US company, accusing it of violating the human rights of local residents, exploiting workers, and breaking laws of the East African country by killing those accused of theft instead of turning them over to the police.
In the Kenyan High Court case, ACCPA is representing local communities in Murang'a and Kiambu counties, where Del Monte's pineapple farm is located, and the families of victims killed by the company's security guards. They accuse Del Monte of "killing our people for the last three decades" and want the American company to take "full responsibility for the abuses," ACCPA Executive Chairman James Mwangi Macharia told Sputnik Africa in an interview.
Macharia went on to detail the allegations of human rights violations against the US multinational.
"It [Del Monte] has had a lot of issues to do with human rights violations and labor rights violations," Macharia told Sputnik Africa. "So this time around, the company has been exposed to human rights violations where several residents from Kiambu and Murang'a have been killed by security guards."
Macharia added, "There's national uproar over these killings and the continued abuse of residents, especially of who lives next to the farm."
According to the ACCPA press statement obtained by Sputnik Africa, two of the four people allegedly killed by Del Monte security guards by drowning were found "submerged and tied to rocks." The NGO officials have asked the Kenyan government pathologist to examine the bodies of the deceased.
"We are saddened by these attacks by Del Monte guards and the continued killing of members of the community," ACCPA said. "So far, our teams have retrieved two out of four bodies tied on ropes. Our legal team has taken over the matter, and we shall lodge the complaint to the United Nation Human Rights Office."
In recent years, complaints have surfaced from local villagers detailing instances of violence and excessive use of force by the plantation's guards, according to media reports. The plantation, estimated to cover at least 40 square kilometers - the size of a small city - is located outside Thika, about an hour's drive from Nairobi, and is the world's largest single exporter of Kenyan produce. It has public roads running through it and directly employs 237 security guards.
The deaths of four people - John Rui Karia, Stephen Thuo Nyoike, Bernard Murigi Wanginye, and Saidi Ngotho Ndungu - allegedly at the hands of Del Monte security guards, have raised serious concerns. These disturbing incidents have called into question the conduct of Del Monte's security personnel and have prompted official investigations by Kenyan authorities.
"Kenyans are saying enough is enough," the ACCPA official stressed. "We've been invited, and we've taken the challenge, and we are commencing various administrative and legal actions against the company for the recent actions and atrocities against the Kenyan citizens. Just like we did with the British army."
Macharia expressed hope that the NGO's actions "will bring into account Del Monte and, in the spirit of sustainable development, the people involved in these atrocities will be brought to justice and the community can be involved in various activities within the firm."
The ACCPA executive chairman noted that the relationship between the local community and the American company is currently "highly unsustainable" and "very parasitic," arguing that such a situation is "not good for Kenya" as a whole.
"What is happening in Murang'a and Kiambu counties is purely a massacre of residents because of these unsustainable practices," he said.
Macharia also said that Del Monte's security guards had been "very brutal" to locals for several years, including to people who were simply crossing the pineapple farm on a public road.
He noted that some of the locals used to steal fruit from Del Monte's extensive plantation. But he emphasized that such people should be turned over to law enforcement, not killed.
"Even if these guys are criminals, some people are stealing pineapples, there's no written policy in this country that multinationals should kill people. It is not acceptable. We have a rule of law. If you catch criminals stealing, take them to court. Police should arrest them. But private security guards cannot take law into their hands and start killing people."
Macharia revealed to Sputnik Africa that the ACCPA is planning to take "very serious measures," including writing to the United Nations Human Rights office in Geneva and the New York Stock Exchange Commission to draw their attention to Del Monte's "unsustainable" practices of in the East African country.
"They are trading their stocks using the brands of our people, made by their hands," Macharia said. "It's important for the world to know that this American company is brutalizing our people, killing our people, raping our women and destroying the environment, using plastics and toxic chemicals which are banned in various jurisdictions in Europe and Americas."
The ACCPA executive chairman concluded, "We have to bring [it] to stop just like the way we stopped Kakuzi [an agricultural firm in Kenya owned by UK's Camellia Group] from brutalizing our people, we are going to stop Del Monte from harassing our people."