DP Ruto's Weston Hotel Refuses to Compensate Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for Illegally Acquired Land

Nairobi’s Weston Hotel has insisted it will not compensate the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) for the parcel of land where it stands on.

Early this year, the National Land Commission (NLC) ordered Weston Hotel, which is owned by Deputy President William Ruto, to pay KCAA for the land at current market value, believed to be Sh300 million. This was after the commission established that the land where the four-star hotel sits was acquired illegally from KCAA, the State agency in charge of aviation.

NLC found that Weston purchased the land from Priority Limited, which obtained the land illegally from its original owner - KCAA.

In documents filed in a Nairobi court, Weston Hotel through its lawyers said it will not compensate KCAA since doing so would amount to an unfair double payment for the property which they had already paid to Priority Limited.

“Weston Hotel is a bona fide purchaser of value without notice contrary to the misleading assertion that the land was illegally and fraudulently acquired, the first respondent (NLC) did not make such determination. The petitioner (KCAA) deliberately sensationalized the above finding by omitting from its petition that the second respondent was found to be an innocent purchaser.”

“The petitioner herein should thus not be compensated twice, if the order for compensation was to be enforced, it would amount to the promotion of unjust enrichment,” Michael Nzile said in an affidavit on behalf of Weston’s directors.

Nzile noted that the hotel had completed paying for the 0.773 hectares of land and is not willing to compensate KCAA, which he accuses of engaging in a political witch hunt.

On its part, KCAA,     through lawyers Otiende Amollo and Stephen Ligunya told the court that it was not interested in being compensated by Weston and only wants its land back.