The class-action petition accuses agrochemical giants such as Bayer, Syngenta, and Monsanto of distributing lethal substances to agricultural workers in central Kenya. A Greenpeace report highlighted that nearly half of the active pesticide ingredients registered in Kenya last year were classified as highly hazardous, with several already banned in the European Union. Toxicological testing for the lawsuit revealed that all 87 applicants carried levels of paraquat and glyphosate that significantly exceeded permissible safety limits. One former sprayer, Reuben Muriki, now requires around-the-clock care after tests detected nearly 200 times the reference limit for paraquat in his urine.
Key points
Agrochemical companies face legal accountability in Kenya for selling pesticides containi…: Agrochemical companies face legal accountability in Kenya for selling pesticides containing lethal ingredients banned in other regions.
Inadequate protective equipment has left horticultural laborers vulnerable to life-alteri…: Inadequate protective equipment has left horticultural laborers vulnerable to life-altering illnesses like pulmonary fibrosis and cognitive decline.
Regulatory gaps allow dangerous pesticides prohibited across the European Union to remain…: Regulatory gaps allow dangerous pesticides prohibited across the European Union to remain registered and used in Kenyan agriculture.
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When Reuben Muriki fainted while doing a chore in the compound of his home near the horticultural town of Timau in central Kenya several years ago, it marked the start of a series of increasingly serious health episodes.
His joints became swollen, his skin became discoloured and he found breathing difficult. He was in and out of hospital, and was forced to quit his work as a pesticide sprayer at a flower farm. Doctors treated him for suspected tuberculosis in vain.
“He would often fall and completely lose consciousness,” his mother, Margaret Mwanjaro, said in their living room in Mukuri village.
Now 30, Muriki is unable to walk on his own. He speaks incoherently and quickly forgets things.
Mwanjaro, on whom Muriki relies for round-the-clock care, believes her son’s condition is a result of poisoning from the pesticides that he used to spray on the flower farm.
Timau, a small town of about 10,000 people, has for decades hosted horticultural companies that employ thousands of workers from the area. Many have fallen sick over the years, some dying young. Their…
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