Real estate's dream lives on amid visible ruins

The front view of the newly constructed Sabby Grand Hotel in Kandara. [Boniface Gikandi, Standard]

In 2002, Mwai Kibaki became Kenya's third president, a transition that ignited a surge of hope among Kenyans.

President Kibaki's ascension brought renewed optimism and ignited a flame of economic aspiration. In the early days of his presidency, interest rates for government loans dropped to about two per cent thus forcing banks to seek customers to take up loans.