Weston Hotel is located along Lang’ata Road in Nairobi, less than a 5-minute drive from Wilson Airport and 15 minutes from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Weston Hotel came into the national spotlight around 2015 when questions emerged regarding the legality of the land on which the hotel was built.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) claimed that the land was public property initially set aside for aviation use and had been irregularly acquired.
The hotel also faced scrutiny when pupils from Lang’ata Road Primary School in Nairobi, accompanied by activists and parents, were teargassed by police on January 19, 2015.
They were protesting against the alleged grabbing of their school playground to construct a parking lot for the hotel.
Several children were injured during the chaos, drawing widespread condemnation from the public and human rights organisations.
Ruro Not Shareholder
During this time, Patrick Osero mentioned that he owned the hotel with two others.
He denied reports that President William Ruto, who was then a deputy, had any shares in Weston Hotel.
“Ruto is not one of the shareholders,” he said.
He stated that Ruto only visits the hotel as a friend and customer.
“You think I cannot own such a property? Why are Kenyans doubting?” he asked.
Ruto Admits Owning Weston Hotel
However, in June 2015, Ruto admitted that he owned shares in Weston Hotel but distanced the hotel from the Langata Road Primary School land-grabbing case.
“I have interest in Weston Hotel. I own shares there,” Ruto said.
“Weston Hotel has not been accused of any land grabbing at all. The person claiming to be the owner of Langata Road Primary School has a case in court already.”
Ruto emphasised that the hotel was built on independent land that he and his partners purchased from Airport View Housing Limited.
Mandip Singh Amrit, Manjit Singh Amrit, Harbans Singh Amrit, and Kamal Prakash Amrit Singh were named as the directors of Airport View Housing Limited.
The Company was at the centre of the school land-grabbing controversy.
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Ruto’s Name Dropped from List of Shareholders
In February 2025, Ruto’s name was removed from the list of directors and shareholders of Weston Hotel.
The hotel’s ownership was entirely transferred to his family.
First Lady Rachel now holds 52.56 percent of the shares while Charlene Chelagat Ruto, the President’s daughter, owns 35.05 percent.
Premier Group, a Dubai-based company, holds 10.5 percent while Matiny Ltd owns the remaining 1.89 percent.
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Compensating KCAA Over Land
In 2019, Weston Hotel stated it would be unfair to compensate the KCAA for the property.
The hotel argued that it had completed payment of the purchase price long ago and should not be required to pay this compensation.
Further, the lawyers contended that such payment would amount to double compensation.
Abdullahi explained that Weston Hotel had done its due diligence to establish that the title issued to them was authentic.
On the other hand, KCAA stated that it did not seek compensation in monetary form but wanted the lands back the land back.
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