BLOW TO DEL MONTE AS COURT DECLINES TO HEAR LAND DISPUTE.

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Three judge bench Justice Kanyi Kimondo, Chacha Mwita and Wilfrida Okwany who ruled that the High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by Delmonte company on Friday September 20,2019./PHOTO BY S.A.N.

BY SAM ALFAN.

It has taken three judges’ three years to determine whether they have jurisdiction to hear a dispute filed by fruit processor Del Monte ltd, as the firm battle with Murang’a county government over the expiry of leases for thousands of acres under pineapple cultivation.

Justice Kanyi Kimondo, Chacha Mwita and Wilfrida Okwany ruled that the High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition as it is a matter concerning the use and title to land.

“We accordingly order that the petition dated September 18, 2015 be and hereby struck out,” the Judges ruled.

The judges said the case would properly be handled by Environment and Land Court, even though the matter was intertwined with constitutional issues raised by the Company.

Muranga County Government opposed the suit arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition and that Article 162 of the constitution and section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act vest the jurisdiction to the ELC court. The County government of Murang’a further accused Del Monte of failing to exhaust alternative remedies before lodging the petition.

The court found that the dominant issue in the petition is the right to renewal of leases over suit of land where the Thika based Del Monte Company sits.

They further found that the issue is intrinsically connected to the use and title to land and such dispute, thus fails squarely within Environment and Land Court.

An earlier ruling made on October 1, 2016 by the late Justice Joseph Onguto declined to transfer the matter to ELC Court.

Del monte Kenya Limited sued the county government of Murang’a for declining to extend their leases on the pineapple plantation farm.

Del monte engages in the business of growing premium quality foods, fresh and processed pineapples and fruit juice beverages.

It is Kenya’s largest exporter of the above named products and is also a subsidiary of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a listed value of about 2 billion US Dollars.

The company in its court documents says on October 1 2012, it made the requisite applications for extension of the terms of various leases to the relevant local authority in the county of Murang’a and Kiambu where the respective parcels of land are situated.

It said despite observing and complying with the statutory procedure, the two county governments have failed to issue the letters of ‘no objection’ for extension of the leasehold terms.

Instead, the county government of Murang’a as a pre-condition for issuing the letter of no objection ‘requested’ Del monte to demarcate and allocate to them at least 1500 acres along the Thika Kenol Highway for “public use”.

Delmonte says the ‘request’ is not only unconstitutional but is also blatantly illegal as the County Government of Murang’a (CGM) has no basis to make such demands on them.

Through Lawyer Njoroge Rigeru, Delmonte said the CGM through its officials has threatened its management severally to accede to the illegal and unconstitutional demands made by the said officials otherwise their leases will not be renewed.

“Failure to consider our application for extension of the terms of the leases is unreasonable, unfair and highly inefficient given the cyclical nature of our business, spanning over a period of three and a half years and therefore requiring advance planning,” claimed.

It is alleged that the Senator of Murang’a County requested petitioner to donate 200 acres of land for private investors to put up a hospital and university.

Delmonte’s Managing Director Stergios gkaliamoustsas says in another meeting in the presence of the Governor, Senator and Speaker of county government of Murang’a at Sankara Hotel, he was informed that he should cede for the exchange of over and above 3000 acres of land for public use and if he did not agree to the request their letter of ‘No objection’ would not be released.

He further argued that even when he applied afresh for the renewal and extension of the respective leases, CGM has delayed and frustrated the process by imposing unreasonable and unconstitutional demands on him.
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The company now seeks to have the court issue an order restraining the CGM from demanding that the petitioner surrenders any part of its land or from imposing any unlawful demands as a pre-condition for issuance of letters of no objection for the extension of the leasehold terms in respect to nine parcels of land.

Delmonte added that in 2014, it paid in excess of Shs 528 million as taxes to the Kenyan exchequer. The company has also invested in 8 nursery schools, 3 day care centers as well as 3 primary schools at the villages located within the farm.

The company said in total, the pineapple farming cycle takes an average of three and a half years from planting of the first crop to uprooting of the crop and a fallow period before the next crop is planted.

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