Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko emerged victorious in a court battle against multi-million Grand Manor hotel owner Praful Kumar following a ruling on Monday, December 9.
Praful, through his company Whitehorse Investments, had petitioned against the demolition of his hotel on grounds that it posed a security threat to the adjacent United Nation's offices.
According to a report by the Business Daily, the Court of Appeal dismissed the case arguing that the private developer had himself to blame for the demolition.
The publication further indicated that appellate judges Erastus Githinji, Wanjiru Karanja and Martha Koome ruled that the petition had been filed three months late.
The bench also stated that the hotelier had filed the case before the wrong forum (Environment and Land Court) instead of the Physical Planning Liaison Committee.
On its part, the county government, through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, accused the developer of ignoring proper inspection and subsequently going around the Physical Planning Act.
On December 13, 2018, City Hall had commenced demolitions on the multi-million hotel located near the US embassy in Gigiri.
The move was informed by a court ruling a day earlier which had ordered for its demolition.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers had, before that, arrested the hotel's owner, Praful Kumar, over bribery claims.
They claimed that he had attempted to bribe Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko in Kwale County.
They further explained that Kumar had allegedly planned to meet the Governor with a Ksh5 million bribe before the EACC sleuths closed in.
