Kenyan tycoon Peter Munga's school loses appeal over 75-acre Del Monte land

Kenya's Court of Appeal has ordered a school owned by Equity Group Holdings Plc founder Peter Munga to leave about 75 acres of land in Murang'a County leased from Del Monte Kenya Ltd., ending the school's bid to overturn an eviction order.

Judges Agnes Murgor, Aggrey Muchelule and Joel Ngugi dismissed the appeal by Pioneer International Schools in a judgment delivered on Nov. 6 and awarded costs to Del Monte.

The bench found there was no lease agreement between Pioneer and Del Monte, and that the fruit grower had never promised the school one. It rejected Pioneer's arguments under the Landlord and Tenant Act and the doctrine of proprietary estoppel, which the school had used to argue that its heavy spending on refurbishing the site gave it a right to stay.

Pioneer may remain on the property until Dec. 31 so learning is not disrupted, but must keep paying the occupation charges set under the old lease. The court said these are occupation charges, not rent. The school may not sublet, assign, alter or expand the premises beyond ordinary school use. After the deadline, Del Monte can enforce the eviction without going back to court.

A dispute dating to 2015

The land, L.R. No. 12157/2 in Gatanga sub-county, is part of Del Monte's pineapple estate near Thika. In September 2013, Del Monte leased about 75 acres to Goshen Gardens Ltd. for eight years at KSh550,000 ($4,234) a month. Goshen said the leased area had been cut from 100 acres.

Goshen fell behind on rent in February 2015, and Del Monte issued a termination notice in May that year. In August 2015, Goshen director David Kigwe told Del Monte he wanted to transfer the school's assets to Munga and asked whether Pioneer could take over the lease. By October, Del Monte learned that Goshen had handed the property to Pioneer without its approval. Pioneer moved in during November 2015 and put up signs under the name Pioneer Girls.

Del Monte's position throughout was that any lease with Pioneer could only be considered once Goshen gave up possession. Goshen sued in April 2015, and Del Monte countersued for trespass, seeking the removal of both companies.

Munga told the Environment and Land Court that he paid KSh38 million ($292,533) to buy the school from Goshen after seeking assurance from Del Monte that the lease would continue, and that he kept paying rent. Justice Anne Abongo Omollo ruled for Del Monte on July 10, 2025, holding that Goshen's lease had already been terminated, so the arrangement with Munga could not stand. She allowed the school to stay until Dec. 10, 2025.

Pioneer obtained a stay of that order on Sept. 17, 2025, pending its appeal. When Del Monte issued a notice in December 2025 saying the school had to leave, Pioneer's board of trustees said the school "has not moved and is operational as before." The Court of Appeal's ruling now sets a firm exit date.

Munga's business interests

Munga founded Equity Building Society in 1984 with KSh5,000 ($38). It grew into Equity Group, now one of East Africa's largest lenders, and he served as its founding chairman. He remains among its larger individual shareholders and bought Equity shares worth KSh166.2 million ($1.28 million) in 2025.

Through his Pioneer group, he owns schools in Murang'a and Pioneer International University. He also holds stakes in Kakuzi Plc, HF Group Plc, Britam Holdings Plc, Equatorial Nut Processors and Freshco Seeds.

In July 2025, Munga teamed up with U.S.-based Everstrong Capital on a $3.62 billion plan to build an expressway between Nairobi and Mombasa, with his company Quickpass Ltd. set to run toll operations.

Figures were converted at KSh129.9 to the dollar.