Deputy President Dr. William Ruto has to pay for the Weston Hotel land at current market value as he pursues the seller, the National Lands Commission has said.
According to outgoing NLC vice chair Abigael Mbagaya, this will enable the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) buy land of similar size and value.
” If he wants, he can go after the people who sold it to him….that’s what we are doing…you return it because it’s you we have caught on the ground then you chase whoever else who sold it to you to recover your money,” Mbagaya said.
Speaking to Citizen TV’s Day Break Show, Mbagaya said the NLC has directed that a valuation be carried out on the land where the controversial hotel sits and a report will be shared with the public.
She further denied claims that their decision on how Weston Hotel should compensate KCAA was influenced by politics
“How can there be political influence when you are telling somebody to pay restitution to the people of Kenya?,” she posed.
This comes few days after the DP admitted to BBC during interview that the original owner of the land was the one who acquired the land illegally.
However, Ruto said that he is doing everything possible to correct the illegalities.
KCAA’s legal services manager, Cyril Wayong’o, said the Weston Hotel land originally belonged to the East Africa Community which collapsed in 1977.
Since its development, the then Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) had been using it for storage premises for the machinery and aviation equipment.
Lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi for the DP, told the national land commissioners that Dr. Ruto acquired the land in 2007 for Ksh.10million from Priority Management Ltd and Monene Investments Limited.
National Land Commission, however, confirmed that the controversial piece belongs to the KCAA.
The tenure of the NLC members ends on Tuesday after being in office for six years.