EACC sleuths from Mombasa have arrested business mogul Praful Kumar with Sh1 million in cash.
The tycoon, reports indicate meant to use the monies to bribe Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko for the approval of a hotel in Gigiri.
The governor stopped the construction of the hotel following opposition from area residents who said the hotel posed security threats.
According to the Gigiri Village Association, the hotel was illegal was its construction was against security regulations and requirements of controlled development in the area.
“This proposed development will be a security risk as it will overlook the UN, American Embassy, Botswana High Commission and Moroccan Embassy. We believe it will infringe on our rights as residents to freedom of movement by causing massive traffic jams, pollution, noise and extra human traffic for a high end (Blue Zone as per Nairobi County) residential area,” said Gigiri Residents Association chairman David Awori back in 2017.
But the businessman insisted that the planned construction was above board and had complied with the environmental and security requirements of the area.
Residents are said to have reported the matter to the county government but no action was taken.
They believed that the developer used friends and family in high places to get approvals from the county and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
Governor Sonko has vowed to reclaim grabbed land and bring down buildings that sit on riparian land.
On Wednesday, Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu’s wife, Susan Wangare was arrested alongside 14 others over illegal construction of buildings in Nairobi.
She was at the centre of the illegal construction of the Sh250 million Delta Hotel building.
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