Del Monte Company’s fight to extend a lease on the pineapple plantation farm in Murang’a County has hit a snag.
This is after a High Court in Nairobi on Friday excused itself from hearing the case because it lacks jurisdiction over the same.
The company had sued the county government of Murang’a over the leasing of the land before the court dealt it the huge blow. The management of the firm is now expected to go back to the drawing board in a bid to secure the land for the plantation.
The Environment and Lands Court remain the only hope for the company to resolve the matter. Del Monte has now accused the county government of violating its constitutional rights after it was denied access the land.
The firm had moved to court in 2015 after the county government also blocked it from using the land for its operations.
Del Monte moved to court in 2015 to sue Murang’a County for declining to extend their leases on the pineapple plantation farm. The management wanted its lease renewed automatically but the county government asked it to bid.
The firm finds bidding a tougher option considering the competition. Del Monte has also said it is unfair for the county government to subject it to bidding when it has invested a lot of money in the same including employment of 7000 persons from different parts of the country.
“If we were to lose the parcels of land, it would be forced to close its business to its detriment and to the detriment of many others who depend on it including its 7000 employees and their dependents,” the company lawyer Njoroge Rigeru said.
The firm has around 22000 acres of land in the county. The determination of the case will mark the end of the battles it has engaged in for years.
The fruit processing plant displaced thousands of residents from the land before setting up its plant.