Deputy President William Ruto Confesses Weston Hotel Land was Illegally Acquired

Deputy President William Ruto has for the first time commented about the controversy surrounding the parcel of land where his Weston Hotel stands on.

Speaking to BBC's HARDtalk show host Stephen Sackur, Ruto has admitted that the piece of land where the multi-million-shilling Nairobi hotel sits on was illegally acquired.

Ruto says that he innocently purchased the parcel from the original owners, who had obtained it illegally but points out that plans are underway to correct the illegalities.

“Tell me about the Weston Hotel, which you own, which is worth an awful worth of money, and which is sitting on illegally acquired land,” Sackur poses the question to Ruto.

“Weston Hotel is a big story…,” says Ruto.

“It is, Kenyans are following very closely; and maybe [that is] why you are top of that [Ipsos] poll [which placed you at the top of the list of leaders Kenyans perceive to be most corrupt]…,” Sackur tells Ruto.

“You would want to believe that Weston Hotel occupies half of Nairobi. Weston Hotel sits on 0.7 hectares of land…,” responds Ruto.

However, Sackur quickly intercepts saying: “Illegally acquired land, which actually belongs to the Civil Aviation Authority, and then you miraculously acquired it and built a Hotel."

“For your information, Weston Hotel was bought…,” replies Ruto.

“Illegally?” insists Sackur.

Ruto goes ahead to defend himself against wrongdoing but admits the persons who sold him the parcel acquired it illegally from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

“Not bought illegally. In fact, for the record, the National Land Commission has made a finding that Weston was an innocent purchaser for value from somebody who got it illegally, and preparations have been made constitutionally to restore that land to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority by demanding that those who sold the land to us must pay,” says Ruto.

Ruto has also defended himself against claims that he's the most corrupt leader in the country.

“If you look at that Ipsos list that placed me as a leader perceived to be the most corrupt, it had William Ruto, a former president [Daniel Moi], the current president Uhuru Kenyatta, the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga… Largely, all the political leaders that exist today in Kenya were in that order. That tells you that the whole corruption narrative has been politicized,” says Ruto.

Asked to reveal his net worth, Ruto has declined, saying: “That information is available in public domain. I encourage you to Google and find out what William Ruto owns. I am prepared to tell you where to find that information, Sackur.”