Why stolen pineapples
will sale like a hot cake
A SPECIAL REPORT
By Wambua Kavila
In pitch darkness,- that ungodly pre-dawn hour, 30 men dressed in dark trench coats and armed with machetes and concealed sacks disembark from a canter almost a kilometer from the massive Del Monte pineapple plantation in Thika.
They swiftly walk, albeit stealthily, and in silence towards the direction of the plantation before cutting the barbed wire and gaining access to the largest pineapple field in the country.
They soon spot an ideal area and harvesting begins with half of the gang going back to locate the canter and have it moved closer to the nearest point outside the fence from their current position. These raiders move in big numbers around the farm with the machetes unconcealed for self defense reasons and to terrify guards on patrol.
Just like in previous raids, they are spotted by guards who are only armed with clubs and powerful flash lights. The guards flee for their lives and subsequently raise alarm and seek reinforcements. The generally flat terrain enables spotting from afar.
Previously, the guards patrolled the expansive plantations accompanied by attack dogs. But the dogs were withdrawn due to public outcry over rising incidents of the canines mauling innocent members of public including children in the vicinity of the vast plantation.
They harvest as much as their sacks can carry but can't make the desired trips as reinforcements will be here in no time. On spotting lights from afar and roaring engines of vehicles coming their direction, they check out in a jiffy, board their canter and speed off in the opposite direction with their edible contraband.
The currency for labour is not cash. Everyone in the team is paid in pineapples; that's the arrangement and it's done as fast as they flee from the plantation. "This time round we each got 100 pieces of the fruit" my source says unflinchingly.
The raiders personally "fence " their contraband and most of them head for neighboring Machakos town which is the most convenient considering proximity and market. Here, pineapples go like a hot cake; almost always, there is never enough supply of it.
It's Monday. A market day in Machakos town, and average sized pineapple is going for Kes. 80-100 inside the main market while the smaller ones go for between Kes. 40-60.
Outside, on the periphery of the market along the wall, there are several young men selling pineapples too. An average and even bigger sized one is being sold at Kes. 50. Before lunch time, they have all been snapped up and my guy is ahead Kes 5,000 along with several of his partners in crime at the loss of the Del Monte firm which supplies the mighty American military along with other international customers around the world.
