Deputy President William Ruto is a man of means. The self proclaimed hustler is known for his generosity especially when it comes to funding church projects. On a salary of just over a million, the DP source of his immense wealth can only be a subject of conjecture. In a separate article on this blog, we made a pretty good research on what the DP owns and his estimated net worth. The article, however, left out his new hotel in Shanzu.
According to an article appearing on a leading daily, Ruto coughed kes600 million to construct what has been touted as one of the largest hotel in Shanzu, Mombasa. Sitting on a 10 acre parcel of land, the Dolphin Hotel will have 600 guest rooms-double the capacity of Pride Inn Paradise Hotel which was the largest until it was dethroned by Ruto’s hotel.
Dolphin Hotel is under Weston Hotel chain and has been under construction since 2016. The hotel has three floors and the beach view is said to be near completion.
Other interesting facts about the hotel
The hotel contractor is Avco Agencies Limited
Construction of Dolphin Hotel commenced in 2016
Construction was halted by the county government after residents complained that the contractor was dumping debris on a public road
Journalist were manhandled after attempting to take photos of the imposing hotel
Name of developer is registered as Weston Hotel Limited.
Trouble with Nema
In 2018, construction of the hotel was temporarily halted after it emerged that the establishment has encroached on sea land blocking access to a public beach. National Environmental Authority (Nema), Mombasa County and local activities confirmed that the irregularities had been resolved and construction had commenced in earnest.
“An inspection was done and the sand that had been deposited and levelled on the beach has been removed. Our officers took photos as a confirmation that the sand had been removed to allow public access of the beach,” Mombasa Nema boss Stephen Wambua told a local daily.
“During our investigations, we found that the encroachment was the only issue after which we confirmed with Nema and our officers that the sand was removed and there was no any further probe. For now, we don’t have any other pending issues,” Mombasa Lands Executive Edward Nyale told the Daily Nation.
Not a rich man
The DP has consistently maintained that he is not as rich as the media portrays him. Early last year, the Star published a story of Ruto’s residence in Uasin Gishu. The publication claimed the lavish home was worth kes1.2 billion.
The compound had a total of six houses, a private airstrip and an artificial lake. Ruto has been linked to other hotels in the CBD, reports he has rubbished.
