President Uhuru Kenyatta has shared a glimpse of his Sagana State Lodge, where he has been camping since Friday.
Photos shared by State House on Wednesday, February 3, showed stark differences between the presidential getaway and State House, Nairobi.
The Sagana State Lodge, located deep in the heart of Central Kenya region, a few kilometres from the Mt Kenya forest boundary, matches its environment.
While State House stands tall in bright white high concrete walls symbolising the seat of power, the State Lodge is mostly made of natural, rough, aged timber coated with a dark brown colour on the outside.
The design mirrors a cottage, and the interior decor embraces nature-inspired textures, simple and earthy colours, and ultimately an unpretentious, organic warmth.
The boardroom is also devoid of a ceiling, allowing guests a feel similar to being inside a log cabin. The heavy red decor theme that lines up the walls and covers the floor inside State House is non-existent.
In its place, a light brown carpet covers only the integral parts of the boardroom and the matching striped wallpaper is only as high as the doors.
Uhuru hosted two high-level meetings at the lodge, a break from State House which is usually preferred for its convenient location among other obvious reasons.
The first meeting was with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretary General Wamkele Mene.
Uhuru reaffirmed Kenya's commitment to AfCFTA and rallied other African states to work closely with the agency's secretariat to ensure that continental trade arrangement succeeds.
The president also held talks with Sudan’s Special Envoy Mohammed Hassan Eltaashi, who delivered a special message from the country's Sovereign Council.
The President and the Special Envoy discussed a number of regional subjects among them the country's border dispute with Ethiopia and the ongoing African Union-led efforts to unlock the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute involving Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
The history of the presidential cabin dates back to colonial times when it would be used to accommodate members of the royal family.
The cabin was handed to Princess Elizabeth, who would later become queen, as a wedding gift.
In December of 1963, Queen Elizabeth II handed the ownership of the Lodge back to Kenya’s newly independent government. It remains a mystery why the cabin was named after Sagana, a town which is more than 40km away.