Mike Kamau Maina, the proprietor of Marble Arch Hotel in Nairobi, was last in news a few years ago after winning huge compensation for his home that was demolished in Nairobi’s upmarket Spring Valley neighborhood.
Mark Maina is thought to lead a highly-guarded life at his farm just outside Kiambu town, where one would be lucky to enter, owing to tight security, according to one of the employees.
Exactly a year ago, the Environment and Land Court judge awarded him more than Sh711 million, broken down to Sh651 million as replacement of the property, Sh50 million general damages for distress and Sh10 million in aggravated damages for his property that was demolished in Nairobi’s Spring Valley.
The date was July 14, 2010, when bulldozers tore down his eight-bedroom mansion to make way for a bypass that runs through the posh neighbourhoods around Westlands.
Justification for bringing down the property was that Maina had acquired the land reserved for the road where he built the home in the 2007.
At the time of demolition, he had never lived in the house, it was just nearing completion.
He successfully defended the acquisition of the land, claiming before the court to have purchased it at Sh80 million.
Before the suit against the State, the businessman in his younger days had fallen out with mortgage lender Housing Finance in a matter that ended up before the court.
According to him, the palatial home was complete with several luxurious and high-end finishes and amenities including a gym, sauna, swimming pool, and club and barbeque area.
The construction of the house had began in May 2007, and by July 2010, it was almost complete and his architects and contractors were in the process of putting final fittings and handing it over to him.
He claimed at the time, he had and continues to have a valid Certificate of Title to the property, which was issued to him by the Government.
Maina had entered into an agreement worth Sh712 million with the lender to build homes to be acquired by the staff of the Kenya Revenue Authority in 1998.
The deal fell through and the lender reneged to remit the funds.
Justice Jessie Lesiit ruled against the businessman in the determination delivered in July 2009, ordering Maina to pay HF Sh3 million in costs.
Although little-known, Mr Maina was a Moi-era baron and his signature project is Marble Arch Hotel, a stone’s throwaway from Nairobi Fire Station — and which, according to parliamentary record, “grabbed” a public toilet to build a parking bay next to the parking lot once owned by the Kenya Taxi Cabs Association.
He was also a key player in the attempted grabbing of Karura Forest, where he was to build a mall similar to Sarit Centre on behalf of President Daniel arap Moi and power broker Hosea Kiplagat.
Mark Maina has been mentioned in a report for allegedly acquiring 74 acres belonging to the Kenya Forest Service in Kiambu.
The revelation is contained in the ‘Report On the Commission of Inquiry Into the Illegal/Irregular Allocation of Public Land’, commonly known as the Ndungu Report, Annexes Volume II that was presented to former President Mwai Kibaki in June 2014 for implementation, but the annexes were never made public.
The annexes, exclusively obtained by the Star, show the tycoon, through his firm Pelican Engineering Company, excised 74.2 acres from the 333.95 acres of Kiambu Forest Block LR. No. 15153, in the 1990s.
A search done by the Star at the Registrar of Companies shows Maina is the sole proprietor of Pelican Engineering Company. The firm’s offices are located along Limuru Road on plot LR. No. 209/2535/3.
The firm was registered on August 13, 1982, as a private company under registration number C.23550. The report said Maina “took possession” of the land “illegally” and recommended revocation of the title. The Star visited the plot last Monday and found several luxury houses built on the land.