Why shoot someone who has surrendered? He had lifted his hands up.
On a vast pineapple farm in Kenya's Murang'a county, three men have died in the past year in incidents involving guards from the British security firm G4S and embedded Kenyan police — deaths that continue despite Del Monte hiring G4S specifically to end a pattern of fatal violence exposed by journalists. The farm, Kenya's largest agricultural exporter, sits at the intersection of global commerce and local poverty, where the stakes of theft and the power of armed security have repeatedly proven lethal. As bereaved families bury sons and brothers, campaigners and elected officials warn that the deepening entanglement of police within private security operations may place accountability beyond reach, leaving justice as elusive as the reform that was promised.
- Three men are dead in under a year — one shot while surrendering with hands raised, one struck on the head by thrown stones, one run over by a G4S vehicle — each killing leaving widows, orphans, and parents without heirs.
- Del Monte brought in G4S in March 2024 as a reform measure after prior killings were exposed, yet the violence has not stopped, and Kenyan police have since embedded themselves inside farm security operations, deepening the chain of command and the fog of accountability.
- G4S claims video evidence supports its guards' actions but has refused to share the footage with journalists, while the families of the dead say they are too afraid to report incidents to the very police officers they believe were involved.
- A senator has called for an independent investigation, a local MP demanded the removal of a police commander, and campaigners warn that armed officers investigating their own alleged crimes makes justice structurally impossible.
- The farm generates over $100 million annually and supplies UK supermarkets, binding British consumers to a supply chain where the monthly local wage is roughly £280 and the cost of pineapple theft has repeatedly been measured in human lives.
On a 40-square-kilometer pineapple farm in Kenya's Murang'a county, three men have died in the past year in incidents involving G4S security guards and Kenyan police. The deaths have shaken local families and politicians who believed the worst was behind them — Del Monte had hired the British firm in March 2024, deploying 270 guards after a human rights assessment found the operation was causing serious harm. The change was announced as a safety priority. The killings continued anyway.
Stephen Marubu Kibandi, 34, was shot in the chest on August 12, 2025, by a police officer working alongside G4S guards. A witness watched him raise both hands in surrender before the shot was fired. A postmortem confirmed he died from a single gunshot wound. G4S says its video shows guards were being attacked with machetes and stones, but has not shared the footage. The incident sparked a protest in which a G4S van was burned, and the local MP demanded to know why a surrendering man had been killed.
Four months later, Stephen's younger brother Haron, 27, died from a traumatic brain injury after being struck on the head by stones allegedly thrown by G4S guards while riding a motorbike. A companion described guards and police positioned as if in ambush. Haron was found on the roadside, his clothes disturbed, with no shoes. He told medics he had been beaten. He died four days later. G4S says it has no record of involvement.
A third man, Michael Muiruri, 31, had been killed the previous August when a G4S pickup struck his motorbike from behind and ran over him. The driver was charged with dangerous driving and dismissed. His mother asked why, if her son had stolen from the farm, he could not simply have been arrested and taken to court.
The grief has compounded across generations. The father of Stephen and Haron stood between their graves and said he has no one left to inherit his name. Haron's widow, 24, is raising their three-year-old daughter alone, having dropped out of school with no income. The family did not report Haron's death to police — they had already learned what that silence costs, and what reporting it might cost more.
Murang'a's senator has called for an independent investigation, warning that repeated deaths over such a short period point to systemic failures in both security protocols and human rights adherence. Campaigners note that armed police embedded inside private security vehicles hold overwhelming power, and that asking those same officers to investigate themselves renders accountability a fiction. The farm supplies UK supermarkets and exports more than $100 million in produce annually — a global supply chain whose human costs, for now, remain largely invisible to the consumers at its end.
On a sprawling pineapple farm in Kenya's Murang'a county, three men have died in the past year in incidents involving security guards and police. The deaths have reignited alarm among bereaved families and local politicians, who say the violence persists despite the farm's owner, Del Monte, hiring a British security firm to replace its in-house guards after previous killings were exposed.
Del Monte appointed G4S to oversee security at the 40-square-kilometer farm in March 2024, deploying 270 guards after a human rights impact assessment found the operation was causing serious harm. The company's then-acting managing director announced the change as a priority for safety. But the killings have continued, and now Kenyan police have embedded themselves further into the operation, establishing what they call a critical infrastructure protection unit. This deepening police involvement has alarmed campaigners, who worry it will make prosecutions harder and shield the security company from accountability.
Stephen Marubu Kibandi, 34, was shot in the chest on August 12, 2025, by a police officer working alongside G4S guards. A witness, Stephen Nderitu, watched as Kibandi raised both hands in surrender before the shot rang out. Nderitu said he saw one of the armed men point a gun, jumped into nearby bushes, and heard the gunshot. The postmortem confirmed Kibandi died from severe bleeding caused by a single gunshot wound to the chest. His death is under investigation by Kenya's police watchdog. G4S says its video shows the guards and police were being attacked with machetes and stones, and that a G4S vehicle was set on fire, but the company has not shared the footage with journalists. The incident sparked a protest in which a G4S van was burned. The local MP, Mary Wamaua Waithira, demanded the removal of the police commander, asking why someone who had surrendered should be shot.
Four months later, Stephen's younger brother, Haron Kame Kibandi, 27, died from brain injuries. Haron had been struck on the head by stones allegedly thrown by G4S guards while riding a motorbike with Kennedy Kiarie, who was stealing pineapples with him. Kiarie described seeing a G4S Land Cruiser with about six guards and two police officers positioned as if in ambush. As they approached, the guards shouted and began throwing stones. Haron fell from the bike, and when they found him on the roadside, his clothes had been pulled down and he had no shoes. He told medics he had been beaten. Hospital scans revealed a traumatic head injury, an epidural haematoma—a bleed between the skull and brain. He died four days later. G4S says it has no record of involvement in Haron's death.
Michael Muiruri, 31, was killed on August 8, 2024, when a G4S pickup truck struck the motorbike he was riding as a passenger. The driver hit the bike from behind, throwing Muiruri onto the road, then the vehicle ran over him. The G4S driver was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and dismissed by the company. A postmortem described how the motorcycle was hit from behind and the deceased was thrown along the middle of the road before being run over by the same vehicle. Muiruri's mother, Margaret Njeri Murigi, 52, said her son died within three hours, bleeding from his mouth and holding his abdomen. She asked why, if he had stolen from the farm, he could not have been arrested and taken to court instead. G4S and Del Monte say it was a traffic accident.
The three deaths have devastated families already struggling with poverty. Harrison Kibandi Marubu, 61, the father of Stephen and Haron, stood between their graves and said he now has no one to inherit his name. His wife, Nancy Muthoni Kibandi, was too grief-stricken to speak, waving her hand and sobbing when asked about her sons. Haron's widow, Caroline Wanjiku, 24, is raising their three-year-old daughter alone. She dropped out of high school and has no job. The family did not report Haron's death to police, fearing they would receive no help after Stephen's killing.
Joe Nyutu, the senator for Murang'a county, has called for an independent investigation, saying the repeated incidents over a short period point to systemic failures in security protocols and human rights adherence. He said no company, regardless of its economic importance, should be beyond scrutiny. The farm is Kenya's largest exporter of produce, worth more than $100 million annually and supplying several UK supermarkets. In a county where the average monthly salary is about £280, pineapple theft has been a persistent problem for decades. Clement Kamau, who documents alleged abuses at the farm, says the presence of armed police inside security vehicles gives them overwhelming power and makes reporting violence futile, since the same officers investigating would be those accused of wrongdoing.
Notable Quotes
Repeated incidents over a relatively short period point to systemic issues that require examination, including security protocols, command responsibility and adherence to human rights standards.— Joe Nyutu, senator for Murang'a county
I have no one to inherit me now. If I had the power to do something, I would show my anger towards G4S and Del Monte for what they have done to me.— Harrison Kibandi Marubu, father of Stephen and Haron
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Del Monte hire G4S in the first place if the violence has continued?
Because the Guardian had exposed killings under the old in-house security system. Del Monte needed to show it was serious about change. G4S was supposed to be the answer—a professional, international firm with human rights training. But the violence didn't stop.
What changed between the old security and the new one?
The scale and the involvement of police. Now there are 270 G4S guards instead of an in-house team, and police are embedded in the operation. That's supposed to be better, but it's actually made things worse for accountability.
How so?
When police are the ones doing the shooting or investigating, who holds them accountable? Campaigners say it creates a shield. The same officers investigating a death might be the ones involved in it.
What do the families want?
Justice, mostly. But also just answers. Why wasn't their son arrested and taken to court? Why was he shot while surrendering? Why was he beaten and left on the roadside? These are people in extreme poverty living next to a $100 million operation.
Does G4S deny responsibility?
They deny wrongdoing in most cases. They say some incidents involve police, not G4S. Others they call traffic accidents. They point to training in human rights and de-escalation. But three men are dead, and the families don't believe the explanations.
What happens next?
A senator is calling for an independent investigation. But without that, the pattern will likely continue—poverty, theft, security response, death. The farm needs the pineapples protected. The community needs to eat. Those two things are colliding on that land.