Kenya: Del Monte Farm Accused of Human Rights Violations

Facts

• Citing the findings of an unpublished report, the Guardian and Bureau of Investigative Journalism have reported evidence of human rights violations, violence, and deaths at the US-based processed food giant Del Monte's pineapple farm in Kenya.¹
• The report accuses Del Monte Kenya employees of leaking information to a criminal network, resulting in the theft of crops and pineapple products, which has allegedly incited company guards to act violently against individuals they suspect of being behind the thefts.²
• According to a lawsuit filed last December by rights groups and community activists, Del Monte's farm is built over a 10K acre space which the locals claim is their ancestral land. The case also brought allegations that company guards 'assault, beat, torture, maim, rape and/or kill the trespassers.'³
• In an incident in 2021, the farm's guards allegedly attacked a group with wooden clubs. The violence has reportedly escalated since to several instances of murder, evidenced by the discovery of four bodies in a nearby river over last Christmas.²
• In response, Del Monte said it was 'cooperating with Kenyan authorities' and added that it was investigating the 'circumstances surrounding the four bodies retrieved from the Thika River.' It did not suggest the company held any culpability in the deaths of the alleged thieves.¹
• In addition to claims of violence, the lawsuit alleges that the Del Monte operation's wastewater is showing alarming levels of toxic substances deemed to be hazardous by the World Health Organization.³

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²www.almayadeen.net and ³Voice of America.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Voice of America. Del Monte has been clear that it is cooperating with Kenyan authorities. Until there is a more thorough investigation, any allegations are merely speculative. It is unfair that the company is already facing scrutiny and defamation over these incidents, especially as it is working hard to keep people employed and safe amid a rise in organized crime and theft.
• Narrative B, as provided by Electronic Frontier Foundation. US Supreme Court rulings in recent years have made American companies less likely to be held liable for overseas human rights violations perpetrated by their suppliers and subsidiaries. SCOTUS' rulings have restricted the scope of liability to company action inside the US. As the court is not doing enough on this issue, it must fall to Congress to make meaningful change — lawmakers must codify an avenue through which the US may enforce human rights responsibilities in US company operations.