Environment and Lands Court has made a few changes on the Weston Hotel case linked with Deputy President William Ruto.
Among the changes made to the land ownership wrangle pitting Weston Hotel and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is the date of hearing which has been slated for March 15, 2022.
The case was previously being heard by Justice Bernard Eboso, who was transferred by Chief Justice Martha Koome on May 21 from Milimani law courts to Thika to work together with Justice Grace Kemei, who was transferred from Murang’a.
In the latest changes, Justice Lucy Mbugua will be tasked with hearing and making the verdict on the case when it resumes just months to the 2022 General Election.
In submissions filed in court, the hotel’s lawyers argued that the case was fueled with politics making Ruto to be prosecuted in the public arena.
This comes just days after ODM Leader Raila Odinga alleged that Weston Hotel grabbed land meant for historical Uhuru Gardens.
“Here next to Weston hotel, which is part of this grounds…In Lang’ata Primary School there are torture chambers that have been preserved by the national museum.”
“This land had been grabbed by those land grabbers who don’t see any open space but you managed to retrieve it back for the benefit of our people and it is going to remain truly Uhuru Gardens,” Raila stated during Jamhuri Day celebrations.
Ruto’s controversial hotel has also been in the news for other wrong reasons after it emerged that it had been hiding wanted Covid-19 billionaire Mary Wambui and her daughter who were wanted for Sh2.2 billion tax evasion.
The billionaire is Ruto’s personal friend and funded Jubilee campaigns in 2017.
