A hotel as old as Kenya

The Panafric hotel . [PHOTOS: FILE/STANDARD]

By PETER MUIRURI

As the country prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence in December, one hotel in the city is already cocking the champagne bottles this October.

Sarova Panafric was right in the middle of the Pan-Africanism movement of the early 1960s.

Over the years, Sarova Panafric has carried a rich and warm legacy. Many patriots and heroes of Africa’s independence such as Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkurumah and Milton Obote were hosted at the hotel under the umbrella of Pan-Africanism.

Such meetings were the very ideals behind the hotel construction. A central location was needed to provide a conducive environment where the new group of Pan-Africanists could meet to advance cooperation and solidarity between newly independent African countries and advance the fight against colonialism in other nations.

The high profile visits made the hotel a focal point in hosting other African heroes.

The hotel construction was initiated in 1961 by Stelios Stylianides, an Italian immigrant in Kenya who later settled in Nyeri. By 1963, the first block was already operational and open to host the Pan-Africanists.

On January 5, 1965, the hotel officially opened its doors to the public with the first president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, a staunch supporter of the Pan-African Movement, officially inaugurating it under the name The Panafric Hotel. By this time, only the first block consisting of 90 rooms was operational.

Expansion

As Kenya experienced an economic boom during the Pan-African era, so did Panafric’s expansion ambition grew. The construction of the second block consisting of 64 rooms began and was officially opened on February 6, 1969 by then Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, S.O. Ayodo.

After the initial construction phase, Stylianides was unable to obtain working capital from local banks, forcing him to sell the hotel to Development Finance Company of Kenya (DFCK), a company whose shareholders were Germans, Dutch and British in 1965.

DFCK invited Kenya Tourism Development Corporation and British Overseas Airways Corporation (forerunner of British Airways) to join them in the hotel ownership in 1966.

BOAC liked the deal and was instrumental in the construction of the BA wing, which they intended to use as airline staff accommodation. However, in 1976, BOAC opted out and sold their shareholding to Panastaff, the hotel’s staff organisation.

Later on, DFCK invited Holloway Hotels Group of the United Kingdom to manage and market the hotel, a role they played until 1983. They appointed a Swiss national, YM Meystre as general manager and consultant.

It was during Meystre’s tenure that the government of the newly independent republic felt that Africans needed to be involved in the management of key positions in various industries.

A directive was issued for such industries to train capable Africans. However, not many Africans were well educated by then, making the chances for the few ones very high. One who proved capable was Obadiah Kuira Bunyi, who was working as an accounts clerk. He was taken as a trainee manager in 1967. Three years later, he was sent to UK and Switzerland for further training.

The first African general manager of the hotel was Kenneth Thugi, who took over from a Mr Emnis in 1970. Bunyi was his assistant. Thugi managed the hotel for a period of three years, after which Bunyi took over in an acting capacity for another three years. In 1976, he was appointed the general manager.

International

Panafric was the first international hotel in Eastern and Central Africa. By international standards that meant that its rooms had a bathroom with a toilet and telephone extensions. Other hotels to join this status later were The Stanley, The Norfolk and Intercontinental.

For a few years, Kenya Safari Lodges & Hotels took over the management of Panafric, which added to their other units such as Ngulia Safari Lodge, Mombasa Beach Hotel and Sunset in Kisumu. The situation changed in 1983 when it was taken over by African Tours & Hotels with KTDC, Panastaff and DFCK as shareholders.

Acquisition

In 1992, Sarova Hotels Group, led by Gurcharan Singh Vohra, bought The Panafric Hotel from AT&H, making it their third acquisition after The Stanley and Whitesands in Mombasa.

Vohra passed on this October, the very month that Panafric was celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Among the famous features of the hotel is the Flame Tree Restaurant located at the site that was once a watering hole for freedom fighters, spies and correspondents.

During this period, it was critical for any political movement to keep their plans and schemes within their affiliations due to their sensitive nature. Flame Tree Restaurant then provided a trusted haven for such confidential meetings.