Human rights groups investigate death at Del Monte farm in Kenya

Human rights groups are investigating a death at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya after a man ’s body was found in a dam there last month.

The body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya , 25, was discovered floating in the dam on Del Monte’s plantation near Thika on 17 November, four days after friends said he had gone there to steal pineapples.

The developments have been uncovered in a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) . They follow allegations published in June of brutal assaults and killings by security guards at the farm, which is the single largest exporter of Kenyan produce to the world.

After the revelations in June, Del Monte committed “to constant improvements” to the way it operates “to adhere to the highest international human rights standards”.

A post mortem commissioned by the police gave Mutisya’s cause of death as drowning and identified “no obvious external injury”. It was also attended by a doctor paid for by Del Monte who wrote his own report.

The Guardian shared the reports and a photograph of the body with a leading British forensic pathologist. He said he believed the body had marks that could be signs of injury, including to the head and arm, and missing details in the post mortem write- ups rang “lots of alarm bells”.

A spokesperson for Del Monte, which is the world’s biggest pineapple supplier, said it had “fully cooperated with Kenyan authorities throughout its investigation last month” and offered its “heartfelt condolences to the family”.