Bereaved families and politicians have raised alarm about continued killings on Del Monte’s pineapple farm in Kenya despite the company hiring a British security firm to replace its in-house security team after previous deaths were exposed by the Guardian. The multinational food company appointed G4S to guard the farm, which is estimated to cover at least 40 sq km, the area of a small city, after the Guardian detailed allegations of brutal assaults and killings of people suspected of trespassing on its land. Kenyan police have been working with G4S to guard the site. Three men, including two brothers, were killed in separate incidents over the past year allegedly involving G4S guards. Stephen Marubu Kibandi, 34, was shot in the chest from close range by a police officer working alongside G4S guards last August after they claimed to have been attacked. The victim put his hands up in surrender before being shot, according to a witness. His brother, 27-year-old Haron Kame Kibandi, died in April this year after allegedly being struck on the head by stones thrown by G4S guards and falling from a motorbike. A third man, 31-year-old Michael Muiruri, was killed after being knocked off a motorbike by a G4S pickup truck.

In 2023, the Guardian revealed allegations about the killing of four men at the farm over a decade. Security at the farm was reviewed as part of a human rights impact assessment, which found that the farm was causing human rights harms across several areas. In March 2024, Del Monte Kenya outsourced all of the security at the farm to a team of 270 G4S guards. Announcing the deal, Wayne Cooke, the then acting managing director of Del Monte Kenya, said: “The safety and security of each individual within our company and the surrounding community are our top priority.” Del Monte Kenya appointed a new manager to address its “human rights challenges”. This year, the Kenyan police extended their work with G4S to guard the site, setting up a “critical infrastructure protection unit” to help improve security at the farm. Campaigners fear there will be more deaths on Del Monte’s pineapple farm because the involvement of police makes the use of lethal force more difficult to prosecute. G4S denies wrongdoing. The farm in Murang’a county is the largest exporter of Kenyan produce, including to several UK supermarkets, and is worth more than $100m a year. The average monthly salary in the county is about £280 ($380) and pineapple theft has been a problem for decades. A Kenyan senator has called for an independent investigation into the violence at the farm…

A spokesperson for Kenyan police said: “The involvement of the national police in Del Monte farm’s security was a well thought-out arrangement meant to not only secure a strategic investment in the country but also reinforce a firm measure of the rule of law and an end to impunity. A G4S spokesperson said: “G4S security officers working at Del Monte sites have undertaken comprehensive training, including operational procedures, human rights awareness, de-escalation techniques and the principles of minimum use of defensive force. “The matters raised either relate to police operations, not G4S, or road traffic accidents that are investigated by the Kenyan police.” A source at Del Monte Kenya said G4S was appointed to guard the farm because of its “strong commitment to maintaining human rights standards”. They said: “Del Monte Kenya also engages another security firm, GardaWorld, which provides operatives for the control room. This diversity is intentional to avoid entrenched problems arising from the establishment of a single security firm. Del Monte Kenya employs no security guards directly, relying on the experience and expertise of the two specialist firms.” The source said Del Monte Kenya “investigates instances of wrongdoing brought to its attention, and takes appropriate action where investigations identify improper conduct”. They added: “Throughout the course of its operations, Del Monte Kenya has implemented training and policies in order to uphold safe operations, and in particular has introduced additional training and mechanisms to promote safe and ethical security practices by security guards and police officers providing security services. “Del Monte Kenya takes all allegations of abuse on the part of security guards extremely seriously. When any abuse or impropriety is found to have occurred, action is taken against the individuals involved.”

Footnote added 17 July 2026. Following publication, lawyers for Del Monte contacted the Guardian with reference to the deaths of Stephen and Haron Kibandi and Michael Muiruri. It said their deaths were “tragic” but that “no fault on the part of Del Monte Kenya in relation to these deaths has been identified”.