A mediation process for the renewal of land leases for Del Monte Kenya Limited is set to start today.
The National Land Commission (NLC) has invited concerned parties to a forum to conform with a court order to try to settle the matter.
In an invitation letter dated October 31, the commission said it was seeking to end a protracted legal battle between the company and Kandara Residents Association.
Court order
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“Following the court order issued on October 3 in the Environment and Lands Court sitting in Murang’a, the parties to the suit should negotiate for a possible out of court settlement.”
The parties invited in the mediation include the Murang’a and Kiambu residents’ associations, the Murang’a County Assembly and the county governments of Kiambu and Murang’a.
Since January, the Kandara Welfare Association has been demanding that Del Monte cede 6,500 acres for community use.
The community claimed the company land was taken from their forefathers without any form of compensation.
The matter will be mentioned in court on November 12, when the parties will furnish Justice Grace Kemei with a progress report on the mediation process.
Kandara residents had gone to court to bar the authorities from participating in the process of renewal of Del Monte land leases, saying no public participation forum had been convened, as the law demands.
Replying affidavit
The fruit processor, in its replying affidavit by legal officer Harry Ondondi, dismissed claims of historical injustices by the petitioners as baseless, noting they occurred 70 years ago before Del Monte acquired the land.
“Even if such injustices were proven, they cannot be used to prejudice the land rights of the company obtained many decades later and the massive investment,” read the affidavit.
