Billionaire businessman Peter Munga’s Pioneer International School has been ordered to vacate a 75-acre parcel of land belonging to Del Monte Kenya Limited by December 31, 2026, after losing a long-running legal battle over its occupation of the property.
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Pioneer International Schools in a judgment delivered on November 6, upholding Del Monte’s right to reclaim the land in Murang’a County.
The three-judge bench, comprising Justices Agnes Murgor, Aggrey Muchelule and Joel Ngugi, found that the school had no legally enforceable tenancy agreement with the fruit processing company.
The judges rejected Pioneer’s argument that its substantial investment in acquiring and rehabilitating the school, combined with Del Monte’s knowledge of its operations, gave it a legal right to remain on the property.
The court said there was no sufficiently clear promise or assurance from Del Monte that a new lease would be granted to Pioneer after the original tenant left.
“What existed was, at most, an indefinite possibility of future negotiations contingent upon conditions that never materialised. Pioneer may well have acted in optimism that those negotiations would mature. But optimism, however commercially understandable, is not tenancy,” the judges ruled.
The dispute dates back to September 2013, when Del Monte leased the 75-acre property to Goshen Gardens Limited for eight years to operate a school.
The agreement provided for an initial monthly rent of KSh550,000, subject to annual increases of five per cent. However, Goshen Gardens fell into rent arrears in February 2015, prompting Del Monte to issue a termination notice in May of that year.
Pioneer subsequently entered into arrangements with Goshen Gardens to take over the school business. Munga told the court that he invested KSh38 million in acquiring the institution and proceeded to rehabilitate its facilities, recruit staff and restore operations.
He argued that Del Monte knew about the transition and that discussions with the company had created an expectation that Pioneer would eventually secure a new lease.
Del Monte maintained that it never approved the transfer of the lease and that any new arrangement could only be considered after Goshen Gardens surrendered the premises.
The Environment and Land Court ruled in Del Monte’s favour in July 2025, directing Pioneer to vacate by December 10, 2025. The school subsequently obtained a stay of the eviction order pending its appeal.
The latest ruling gives the institution until December 31, 2026, to complete the academic year and organise the relocation of students, staff and candidates sitting examinations.
During the transition period, Pioneer must continue paying monthly occupation charges at the rate applicable under the former lease. The court clarified that these payments do not establish a tenancy.
It also prohibited the school from subletting, assigning, expanding or making alterations to the premises beyond ordinary school operations.
If Pioneer fails to surrender the land by the deadline, Del Monte can enforce the eviction without seeking another court order.
The ruling brings a decade-long dispute closer to conclusion, while placing pressure on the school to relocate its operations without disrupting students' education.
