Deputy President Dr William Ruto faces a tough challenge of having to pay for restitution, days after admitting that he illegally acquired the land on which his 0.7 hectare hotel stands.
According to the National Land Commission, Dr Ruto will have to compensate Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
Outgoing NLC Vice-chair Ms Abigael Mbagaya said that going by NLC’s ruling on the matter, Weston Hotel’s owner will have to pay restitution “to the people of Kenya” at the current market value of the property.
“(This will) enable Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to buy land of a similar size and value in the same neighbourhood,” Ms Mbagaya said at a morning show on Citizen TV Tuesday.
“Innocent” Ruto
In an interview last week with the BBC, Dr Ruto alleged that though he acquired the land illegally, he does not have to pay. According to the Deputy President, the people who fraudulently sold him the land should pay restitution instead.
“Reparations 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,” the DP said in an interview with the BBC.
Showdown loomsh
Despite Dr Ruto’s signal that NLC shuld head for the real culprits’ in the Weston Hotel saga, The commission’s Vice chairperson insists they are not going for anyone else other than the current owner.
“Weston must pay restitution. If he (Dr Ruto) wants,
he can go after the people who sold it to him. That’s what we are doing,” she
said. “Can we start going for the people who were allocated initially? We go
for the people on the ground. Let them chase the people who are behind it.”