Governor Sonko's Take on Demolishing Weston Hotel

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has vowed to go after the controversial Weston Hotel if it happens to sit on illegal land.

In a statement made shortly after his Kiambu counterpart Ferdinard Waititu opposed the demolitions proposing instead that rivers should be moved, Sonko indicated that nothing will deter him from demolishing any of the illegal properties in Nairobi.

"He (Waititu) should know we don't mix friendship with work. Even Weston (Hotel) and many other buildings shall not be spared if found to be on riparian or public land," Sonko asserted.

[caption caption="The Weston Hotel located along Langata Road"][/caption]

Sonko further indicated that the controversial Taj Mall will also not be spared if found to be on public land as well as his Buru Buru Casurina Coco Beach Plot.

"My good friend and colleague should concentrate on his county or maybe he does not know what is the definition of a Riparian land.

"That's why even in campus he was copying me during CATs. In fact he needs to tell us the status of a petrol station constructed on a grabbed public access at the junction of Mihango and Njiru. Or maybe he's scared of the facts," Sonko quipped.

The Weston Hotel rumoured to be owned by Deputy President William Ruto came in the limelight in Jan 2015 after Lang'ata Primary School kids were teargassed by police as they protested the alleged grabbing of their playground by the hotel.

In June 2017, the hotel was in the headlines after reported Cholera Outbreak during a science Conference by medics dubbed The Kenya International Scientific Lung Health Conference.

The unrelenting onslaught by the Nairobi Regeneration Committee has seen several major buildings sitting on riparian land including Nakumatt Ukay, Oshwal Centre in Westlands, and Southend Mall demolished.

[caption caption="Bulldozers descend on Nakumatt Ukay which sat on riparian land"][/caption]

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday indicated that he had lost many friends in the recent past over the demolitions but iterated that there will be no retreat in reclaiming the illegally-acquired properties.

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