In pictures: Sany tears down Grand Manor Hotel in Gigiri

Demolishing the Grand Manor Hotel in Gigiri, Nairobi on Thursday: The building was marked as a security threat. [Courtesy GPS]

Sany, the green "celebrity" excavator is back. Celebrity because it features prominently on social media.

At Thursday dawn, it tore down the multi-million Grand Manor Hotel in upmarket Gigiri, Nairobi.

The demolitions followed a Tuesday court ruling that the hotel owned by businessman Praful Kumar is a security threat to the adjacent United Nations offices.

Gigiri Village Association had also filed a case against the hotel in 2015. [Courtesy GPS]

The hotel that is opposite the US Embassy and United Nations complex is also sandwiched between the High Commission of Botswana and the Embassy of Morocco.

The hotel's owner, Kumar recently made news after Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives arrested on suspicion of attempting to bribe City Hall officials. [Courtesy GPS]

Bribery

The hotel’s proprietor Praful Kumar Premchand Saula is also facing bribery charges after he allegedly offered Governor Sonko Sh5 million in order to approve the construction of the Hotel on LR.91/239. Work was going on when the excavator struck. 

Prosecutors say he committed the offence on August 20 at Kanamai in Kikambala, Kilifi County.

Last week, he was released on Sh500,000 bail or an alternative Sh1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount.