High-end hotel owner linked to Sh7m kickback

Sunshine Guest house, Ruiru off Kangundo road, Nairobi County. [Elvis Ogina/Standard]

Few places come close to the ambience at Sunside Guest House, a top-end getaway that was yesterday thrust to the fore in the fight against graft.

The six-storey building in Ruai has been drawn into a graft case involving officials of National Land Commission (NLC) as Deputy Director of Valuation Joash Oindo is said to have received Sh7 million through Sunside Guest House, which is managed by his wife and son, according to the anti-graft agency.

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has cleared the prosecution of the suspects over land compensation the EACC says was inflated to facilitate kickbacks.

It is yet to be established if the looted funds were spent on improving the new getaway hotel, which has been in operation for a year, offering guests “modern comfort and west-end style dining” while enjoying scenic views of Kilimambogo and Koma Hills.

Immediate neighbours are a church and freshly-tilled farmland, some 2.5km off Kangundo Road.

Interviews with staff help paint a picture of a lonely place hoping for better days, perhaps when the roads leading to the facility are graded.

Sunside Guest House speaks of opulence and tranquility the moment you walk past the gate to escape the punishing and dust in that part of the city, opening up to the multi-million shilling property.

Above the ground floor is a restaurant for 80 guests, a conference facility for 70 and a further 70 executive rooms that cost Sh8,000 a night.

It is clear from the menu at the continental restaurant that the target clientele are the sophisticated type.

A serving for two is priced at Sh1,800, a modest price when compared to restaurants finished to its level.

The hotel, with an annexed “kids paradise”, is owned by the family of Oindo. His wife and son, who are the registered owners, are also suspects in the fraudulent transactions.

Oindo’s family is among the suspects expected before a Nairobi court this morning to answer charges of fleecing the Government Sh105 million.

The charges relate to receiving huge payments from an overpaid property that was compulsorily acquired for road expansion in Ruai.

However, it was business as usual at the hotel yesterday, as a handful of guests trickled in while others were leaving.

Detectives have lined up Oindo, his wife, son and other individuals and companies to establish if they aided the theft.