The parent company to Kakuzi farm estate, Camellia PLC has agreed to pay Ksh1.96 billion as compensation for lawsuits filed by 85 victims over claims of human rights violation by the farm's employees.
Armed security guards, working at the 54 square mile avocado farm, were accused of violence against the local residents between 2009 and January 2020.
Among the charges levelled against the guards include beating a 28-year-old man who had been accused of stealing avocados to death, raping 10 women and committing dozens of attacks on people in nearby villages.
The UK firm, valued at Ksh27 billion, will have to part with Ksh1.96 billion, which is inclusive of the compensation, legal costs and funding schemes for the community.
The original claim in the High Court in London by British law firm Leigh Day, had over 79 claims of human rights infringement by the locals.
The law firm had been approached by several lobby groups among them Kenya Human Rights Commission, Ndolo Resource Centre and Centre for Research and Multinational corporations.
The law firm accused the guards working at Kakuzi for intentionally punishing locals for crossing the property. However, Kakuzi argued that its crops needed to be protected from theft, given avocados are among the most valuable plant crops.
The allegations led to investigations by the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
"As we visited the farm, there was an ongoing investigation into allegations that security guards had caused the death of a young man who had reportedly been apprehended on suspicion of stealing avocados.
"Equally, we heard of past incidents in 2014 and 2016, including credible first-hand accounts from women and elderly persons about attacks they had experienced in 2014, from which they still suffered physical and psychological injuries," read an excerpt from a report presented by the UNHCR.
The British-owned company has been rapidly expanding its avocado planting to meet increased demands, leading to clashes with locals.
