The Court of Appeal has ordered Pioneer International School to surrender the 75-acre site owned by Del Monte Kenya Limited in Thika no later than December 31, 2026.
The judges granted the school a temporary stay so that the current academic year can be completed and students, including those sitting examinations, can be transferred without disruption, but they stressed that the school holds no legal entitlement to remain on the property.
The court dismissed Pioneer’s contention that its substantial investment and occupation created a tenancy, ruling that “optimism, however commercially understandable, is not tenancy.”
The dispute traces back to September 3, 2013 when Del Monte leased the parcel to Goshen Gardens for eight years to run a school, at a monthly rent of KSh550,000 with a 5 per cent annual increase and a clause forbidding any assignment without the landlord’s consent.
Goshen Gardens fell into rent arrears in February 2015, prompting Del Monte to issue a termination notice on May 5, 2015; Goshen contested the notice, alleging breach of the lease, reduction of the leased area and removal of the perimeter fence, and the matter was referred to arbitration, which stalled after settlement talks began.
In July 2015 Goshen approached Peter Munga with an offer to sell the school’s business, assets, equipment and facilities for an additional KSh38 million, after which Munga described the institution as being in a deplorable state and undertook its rehabilitation.
Pioneer argued that Del Monte was aware of, and had encouraged, its takeover, pointing to meetings, staff recruitment and capital outlays as evidence of an implied lease, but the judges found no clear assurance or representation from Del Monte that could give rise to an equitable right, noting that “equity protects expectations induced by the property owner. Equity does not convert a party’s unilateral hope or exuberant optimism into a proprietary right.”
The court directed Pioneer to continue paying the monthly occupation charges at the rate applicable immediately before the judgment, on the ordinary due dates, and clarified that such payments do not constitute acceptance of a tenancy; it also prohibited the school from subletting, assigning, altering or expanding the premises beyond ordinary school operations during the transition period.
Del Monte maintained that it never consented to lease the land to Pioneer, asserted that any future arrangement would only be considered after Goshen surrendered possession, and accused Goshen of handing over the site without permission, adding that Munga had installed signboards bearing the name Pioneer Girls School without authorisation; the company had filed suit in 2016 seeking eviction, removal of fixtures and a police order to enforce the removal.
The appellate judgment, delivered on November 6, dismissed Pioneer’s appeal, upheld the Environment and Land Court’s July 2025 order for vacant possession and mesne profits, and set the December 31, 2026 deadline, after which Del Monte may proceed with eviction without further court intervention.
