The Court of Appeal has upheld Del Monte Kenya Limited's bid to take back land occupied by Pioneer International Schools. Justices Agnes Murgor, Aggrey Muchelule and Joel Ngugi delivered the judgment on November 6, The Eastleigh Voice reported. They ruled that the school had no legally enforceable tenancy with the landowner. Capital FM said Pioneer runs the school commonly associated with the Munga school dispute.
The bench gave the school a transition period until December 31, 2026. This lets it finish the academic year and relocate students, staff and examination candidates. Until then, Pioneer must keep paying monthly occupation charges at the rate set under the old lease. The judges said these payments are not rent and do not create a new tenancy. Pioneer also cannot sublet, assign, alter or expand the premises beyond ordinary school operations.
If the school fails to hand over vacant possession by the deadline, Del Monte can carry out the eviction without returning to court. The appeal was dismissed with costs to Del Monte, according to The Eastleigh Voice.
The judges rejected Pioneer's claim that its heavy investment in staffing, infrastructure and operations gave it a right to stay. They said such spending cannot create tenancy rights without the landowner's consent. "Optimism, however commercially understandable, is not tenancy," the court ruled. It also dismissed Pioneer's arguments under the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act and the doctrine of proprietary estoppel.
The dispute dates back to September 2013. That month, Del Monte leased part of its land to Goshen Gardens Limited for eight years to run a school. The rent was Sh550,000 a month, rising five per cent each year. Goshen fell into arrears in February 2015, and Del Monte issued a termination notice that May.
Pioneer then struck a deal with Goshen to take over the school business. It moved onto the premises in November 2015 and put up signs reading Pioneer Girls, The Eastleigh Voice reported. Pioneer argued that Del Monte knew about the transition and took part in talks. Del Monte said it never agreed to transfer the lease and would negotiate only once Goshen left.
The court sided with Del Monte. It noted that the original lease banned assignment without the landlord's consent. It also found that Del Monte had repeatedly objected to Pioneer's occupation, through letters and court cases, and had won injunctions. The ruling upholds the Environment and Land Court's July 2025 judgment, which ordered vacant possession and awarded mesne profits to Del Monte.