Police Recover 10,000 Pineapples, Arrest 199 Suspects In Operation At Del Monte, Murang’a

Some 199 suspects have been arrested and more than 10,000 stolen pineapples recovered and returned to Del Monte farm in Murang’a County.

The suspects were charged with various offenses.

The recovered pineapples were returned to the company, police said Friday of the “Operation Linda Mananasi” exercise.

The suspects were fined a total of Sh2.3 million in the same period.

Murang’a County Police Commander David Mathiu has been leading the operation with local team within Ithanga/Kakuzi Sub-county with a view of arresting and preventing agricultural produces from being stolen.

This followed complaints from the farm management there is rampant stealing of the products from the expansive farm.

Mathiu said a successful operation with officers drawn from other subcounties sealed the vast farm and also recovered ten cars, dozens of motorcycles and tuktuk that were being used in the theft.

He said the operation will continue to ensure the farm enjoys their business.

Past operations by the farm led to clashes between their security and suspected thieves which turned fatal.

The vast plantation is estimated to cover at least 40 sq kilometers of the area of Muranga.

The farm has public roads going through it and directly employs 237 security guards.

Guards on the farm are typically armed with rungus.

Their use in security is legal and common in Kenya because of the risk of violent theft, including from young men who regularly go in organised groups to steal pineapples, but the claims suggest the guards’ use of violence has been excessive.

The scale of theft has resulted in clashes with guards, who have themselves been injured, including one reportedly losing an eye after a stone was thrown by a thief.

The claims of violence by Del Monte security guards over a number of years raise serious questions about the company’s processes and due diligence at the farm.

In 2019, five guards at the farm

Were charged with murdering a man who strayed in a pineapple plantation.