In last year’s gubernatorial elections in Kenya’s Kiambu and Murang’a counties, the renewal of the land lease of fruit processing firm Del Monte was a central issue. Several contenders gave their conditions, to be met before the renewal of the expired lease. The 10,000-acre piece of land straddles both counties.
A year later and with elections settled, it has fallen on Kiambu governor Ferdinand Waititu and Mwangi Wa Iria, his Murang’a County counterpart, to take or reject the lease to the land mostly used for growing pineapples for the local and export markets. Kenya is the world’s fifth largest pineapple exporter. But all doesn’t seem well. In fact, the back and forth between the two governors is risking the whole arrangement.
What is coming out is that the right to own property gets threatened when politics comes in. Whereas Waititu has signed a renewal agreement with the Del Monte owners, Wa Iria is still dithering in presenting his demands.
According to standardmedia.co.ke , there are most definitely strong political undertones. It claimed that “needless tussles as those seen between the company- the biggest employer in the area- and Kiambu and Murang’a Counties, are not good for business.”
