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When a city restaurant refused to serve Dr. Richard Leakey 'kanjo' water

NEWS

In 2017, Kenyans politely told owners of La Cascina Restaurant in Karen that they should know people. 

This came after the world-renowned conservationist and chair of the Kenya Wildlife Service went to their restaurant for a pizza, and after demanding 'Kanjo' water, was asked to leave.

Dr. Richard Leakey, one of only three Kenyans to grace the cover of TIME magazine, was dining with his wife Dr. Maeve Leakey.

The couple asked for tap water after ordering a pizza, but La Cascina refused because they sell their own water, since the Kanjo water is ‘unsafe’. Dr Leakey was apparently told by the management that he could get his Kanjo water from the toilet with plastic cups and when he insisted on tap water, their lunch was reportedly taken away and security called on them.

Kenyans reacted angrily to this treatment, with then-Nairobi-Governor Dr Evans Kidero reassuring residents that water distributed by the county government was safe and owners of La Cascina should have served the Leakeys ‘Kanjo water.’ The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) castigated the restaurant, but lawyer Donald Kipkorir, speaking for La Cascina, termed the complaints as threats.

“Our client chooses what it serves and what it doesn’t serve to its customers. This is purely a business decision,” said Kipkorir, adding that: “Most upmarket restaurants and hotels in Kenya and indeed in Europe, don’t as a policy serve tap water.”

Dr Leakey wrote to Nairobi City County trade boss Anna Othoro and copied the letter to Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, Kenya Tourism Board CEO Betty Radier and Cofek secretary-general Stephen Mutoro, to have the restaurant’s licence withdrawn.

“The proprietor should be made to understand that Kenya and Kenyans do not expect or tolerate ‘Trumpish’ attitude,” said Dr Leakey.

 

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