A whopping a hundred million shilling bribe and intense lobbying of state officials has saved Deputy President William Ruto’s imposing Weston Hotel from certain demolition, we can authoritatively reveal.
Despite overwhelming evidence that the land on which Weston Hotel was built is public land, and on the same week the country hosted the National Anti-Corruption Conference, the National Land Commission, in a diabolical conspiracy with law firms owned by allies of DP Ruto have exonorated the DP from illegally acquiring what was once public land earmarked for airport expansion.
In a bizarre ruling delivered this week and which Kenyan Analyst has reliably learnt was secretly drafted at the chambers of Sing’oei Murkomen & Sigei Advocates and Katwa & Kemboy Advocates, the NLC recommended that Ruto be forced to pay market rates for the land on which Weston stands.
The two firms are associated with Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and lawyer Katwa Kigen who jointly developed the draft final ruling and secretly delivered it to the NLC Vice chairperson Abigail Mbagaya.
In its shocking report dated 22 January, the NLC indicated it would regularise the Weston Hotel title deed once its owners paid a compensation of the current market rates for the parcel of land to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
The orders in NLC’s ruling, signed by Commissioner Mbagaya
Despite protests from KCAA that the hotel posed a serious safety hazard to aircraft landing and taking off from the busy Wilson Airport, commissioners of the NLC are reported to have accepted to be compromised by the DP Ruto and accepted a hefty sum of Sh100 million to save Ruto’s hotel and put closure to the matter.
The bribery allegations through Murkomen and Kigen are not far fetched as the late Jacob Juma made similar claims before he was brutally murdered
Katwa Kigen Advoc approached me with an offer of sh50m to withdraw my case against Ruto’s Weston but I declined @WMutunga @ahmednasirlaw.
— jacob juma (@kabetes) January 24, 2016
When I declined Katwa's bribery offer, he has resorted to creating unnecessary adjournment over Weston hotel case @WMutunga @ahmednasirlaw.
— jacob juma (@kabetes) January 24, 2016
There can never be compensation when it comes to public land. Ruto should return public land that he grabbed from KCAA and demolish Weston.
— jacob juma (@kabetes) May 3, 2016
If @UKenyatta is sincere with his speech today, recover KCAA land from Ruto's WESTON hotel. Here is the evidence. pic.twitter.com/1w7JRrvMMK
— jacob juma (@kabetes) November 23, 2015
During the month of December 2018, NLC Commissioner Mbagaya flew to Kampala and was booked at the Serena Hotel over the festive season. While Mbagaya made it look like she was enjoying her Christmas.holidays,, the reality is this was a conveniently selected rendezvous where regular consultation with DP Ruto’s people took place.
Mbagaya is the one who ropped the rest of the commissioners to secretly meet with the DP who then persuaded them to support the doctored ruling by offering a hefty compensation to each one of them in exchange of their support.
The DP himself was so anxious to conclude the matter and spared no expenses in defending his hotel, hiring an expensive legal team and giving them an open cheque to turn the matter in his favour.
Sources close to the DP have also confirmed compensation payment to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority had been approved and the DP’s family simply wanted to run their business in peace and tranquility.
The bribery at NLC was so widespread that it’s legal officers and land surveyors who work under the commissioners also received their share of bribes facilitated by the hotel owners.
Authorities in Kenya have lately demolished multi-million of structures built either on road reserves or riparian land and among the those that were brought down were the Taj Mall, Ukay Centre and South End Mall.
Experts have suggested that NLC’s ruling on Weston Hotel amounts to legalising public land grabbing and offers the grabbers an easy way out.
The ruling came on the same week Kenya hosted an Anti-Corruption Conference
NLC Commissioner Mbagaya has developed a nasty reputation for extorting bribes from.members of the public.
Recently The Star newspaper flagged her shocking rags to riches story where it was alleged that when took office, she was living in a rental house and was driving a Toyota Premio. After a short stint in her NLC job, however, she now owns seven houses, some in the upmarket Kileleshwa. She has at least 14 shuttles registered in her brother’s name and is said to be driving in top-of-the-range cars only. Mbagaya is further said to have two Mercedes Benzes, a Prado, Toyota Demio and a double-cabin car.
According to the report carried in the Star’s Corridors of Power column, Mbagaya’s appetite for deals is behind her massive wealth.