The British owners of an avocado farm in Kenya that supplies supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Lidl — and until recently Marks & Spencer — are being sued over a string of alleged human rights abuses.
Guards working for Kakuzi, a farming estate the size of Manchester, are accused of extreme violence against the local community in 79 claims.
The allegations, dating from 2009 to January this year, include battering a 28-year-old man to death for allegedly stealing avocados, the rapes of 10 women, and attacks on villagers walking on paths through Kakuzi land. Former employees of Kakuzi are among the claimants.
The case has stirred uncomfortable echoes of colonial-era exploitation and raised difficult questions for British supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Marks &