A gruelling search for four men who had gone missing days earlier in the area around the 22,000-acre pineapple plantation owned by Del Monte in Thika ended tragically on Christmas Day of 2023.

Their bodies were found in Chania River on the night of December 24-25, a grim discovery that horrified the search party, which included relatives of the men and local activists.

Among those in the exhausted search team that had sacrificed the merry-making typical of the season in the hope of finding the missing men was Mr Clement Muiruri Kamau.

Mr Kamau is the chairman of the Kagama Community Action Forum (KCAF), a community-based organisation in Murang’a County, which documents human rights abuses in the surrounding areas.

KCAF has recorded hundreds of alleged human rights violations carried out by private security guards at the vast plantation owned by the United States-domiciled food production and distribution company.

Public roads run through the plantation and cases of theft of pineapples are common. The four men had allegedly been on the farm to steal pineapples when they disappeared.

While assisting family members in retrieving the bodies from the river, Mr Kamau was allegedly offered a bribe by a local police boss if he helped “slow down the case”. The officer is from a station within the pineapple fields.

When he refused the bribe, Mr Kamau was warned of “dire consequences” and told that he would soon be added to the “agenda” of the government.

Earlier in July and August 2023, KCAF had written to a number of United Kingdom-based supermarkets that stocked Del Monte pineapples sourced from Kenya, informing them of alleged human rights violations at the Thika plantation. The following year, several of those supermarkets stopped stocking Del Monte Kenya products.

Read: Police-led security team on Del Monte plantation accused of brutality

Fast forward to the night of February 24, 2024. As Kamau drove home from a friend’s house along the Thika-Kenol highway, a black SUV, which had been trailing him and flashing its lights, swerved in front of him, causing Kamau to crash into another car.

Although Kamau escaped on foot and hid, physical evidence pertaining to a human rights abuse petition over alleged violations at the Del Monte farm, which he was to file at the Thika High Court, was stolen by the unknown assailants.

Kamau reported the incident to the Thika Police Station and Ndururumo Police Station, Gatanga, on February 27, 2024. He has not been informed of any investigation, which has taken place nor has his stolen items ever been recovered.

This is one of numerous cases of harassment targeting the activist that forced him, in December 2024, to temporarily relocate to a safe house, according to a protest letter by Ms Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, addressed to Kenyan authorities.

UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor.

Photo credit: Pool

Mr Kamau has reported harassment by police and government officials. In September last year, he was informed by a former police officer that he was under surveillance and that his network of contacts and sources was being investigated.

Thereafter, on September 22, Mr Kamau was abducted by a number of men, some of whom claimed to be police officers. He was seized from the site of his former business, the Fine Touch Club, which had been the latest to be shut down by authorities as part of the campaign of terror.

Kamau was forced into the boot of a car and driven for about two hours before being released on the outskirts of Thika town. On releasing him, his abductors warned him to end his opposition to the levelling of a football pitch and volleyball court used by local youth that was at risk of land-grabbing.

Ms Lawlor, in the January 23, 2026 letter, sought responses from authorities over the cases of intimidation and harassment against the activist for speaking out against atrocities in the expansive pineapple farm in Murang’a.

“Without wishing to prejudge the accuracy of the above-mentioned allegations, we express grave concern at the alleged intimidation and harassment of, threats to and forced closure of business interests of Mr Kamau. These measures appear to have been taken in retaliation for his work helping to expose alleged human rights violations, including at the Del Monte pineapple plantation in Thika, as well as for exercising his right to freedom of expression, including expressing his views opposing the levelling of sports facilities and other projects by a private company,” she wrote in the letter seen by the Nation.

Read: Death at pineapple farms: Violence, torture and killings with impunity by Del Monte guards

“We are concerned by the reported lack of effective investigations into incidents of harassment, intimidation, verbal abuse, and other violations, allegedly experienced by Mr Kamau, as well as the persistent failure to hold perpetrators accountable. We are further concerned by the apparent failure of the police force to provide protective measures for Mr Kamau,” she said in her letter.

According to the Special Rapporteur, on August 29, 2023, while Mr Kamau was cooperating with media outlets on their investigations, he received an anonymous text message warning him to “keep media out of Del Monte farm” and do not “blame us in case of anything”.He received a second message from the same number on October 9, 2023, which stated: “We kindly requested you to desist, but seem not to. Don’t say you were never warned.”

On March 8, 2024, a senior national government administrator in Murang’a allegedly issued a verbal order to shut down Mr Kamau’s Fine Touch Club. The premises also served as KCAF’s headquarters. The administrator “allegedly publicly claimed that Mr Kamau was a threat to community peace” and accused him of inciting local youth against Del Monte and encouraging pineapple theft.

Ms Lawlor asked the Kenyan government to provide additional information on the allegations Mr Kamau had made, status of investigations, steps to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice, protective measures for Mr Kamau and reasons for the closure of his businesses.

An aerial aerial view of pineapple plantations at Del Monte farm in Thika, Kiambu County.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Yesterday, Ms Lawlor expressed her frustration over the government’s failure to respond to her inquiries regarding the victimisation of the human rights activist whom she met in October 2024 during her tour of Kenya.

“We can confirm no response has been received,” said Mr Ed Ireland, Ms Lawlor’s aide. “The letter was sent, as per the protocol, to the ambassador of Kenya to the UN in Geneva. Generally, the embassy then transmits it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nairobi for follow-up.”

Apart from the letter to the Kenyan government, Ms Lawlor, on March 25, 2026, also wrote to Del Monte management over the reported human rights violations by private security guards on the plantation. In her letters, Ms Lawlor was emphatic that “while awaiting a reply, we urge that all necessary interim measures be taken to halt the alleged violations and prevent their re-occurrence”.

Read: Del Monte partners with police to overhaul security after abuse claims

“If the investigations support or suggest the allegations to be correct, ensure the accountability of any person(s) responsible for the alleged violations,” said Ms Lawlor.

The government was required to respond to the two letters within 60 days for presentation to the Human Rights Council headquarters. The failure to respond could see the United Nations Human Rights Council exert pressure on Kenya to address the issues or face sanctions like aid cuts from UN members. This could potentially damage Kenya’s reputation and credibility.

Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Del Monte management had not responded to inquiries sent to their known mobile numbers by the time of publication. However, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said: “I have seen no such document.”

Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor also denied knowledge of the letter.

“I am not seized of the matter. Maybe she could follow up with the Kenya National Human Rights Commission,” said Ms Oduor.

Last year, Ms Lawlor expressed her frustrations over the government’s failure to respond to her on her X account.

“I wrote to the government of Kenya about the arrest, detention, deportation and prosecution of human rights defenders as part of a wider crackdown on peaceful protests. I regret not having received a response,” she posted.

Ms Lawlor had sought the government’s position on the excessive use of force against Kenyans, including those who stormed Parliament on June 25, 2024, as they protested against the Finance Bill 2024, which had proposed to introduce a punitive taxation regime.

Of interest to Ms Lawlor were allegations of abductions, enforced disappearances and detention of individuals, including protesters, activists, lawyers, medical professionals and human rights defenders in relation to the June, July and August 2024 protests.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) documents filed in Parliament show that between December 2024 and December 2025, some 2,848 complaints of human rights violations were reported, including killings, extrajudicial executions, abductions, enforced disappearances and harassment of activists. During the period, the commission recorded 57 violations of the right to life, including the targeted killing of a human rights defender.

At least 15 cases of abductions were reported during the period, with security officials involved; over 20 human rights defenders were beaten, arrested or summoned by the police in a single week in July 2025.

According to KNCHR, when law enforcement officers fail to find legitimate charges, “they often resort to fabricated criminal charges to silence defenders”. Incitement and creating a disturbance, assault, obstructing police duties, terrorism and drug trafficking accusations were common.

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dmwere@ke.nationmedia.com