Govt Denies Claims That Bomas Of Kenya Has Been Sold

The government has dismissed claims by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that Bomas of Kenya has been sold to a Turkish businessman.

Speaking in Kitengela on Sunday, Gachagua alleged that the facility had been sold to a Turkish investor linked to a senior government official.

However, the Principal Secretary for the State Department for Culture, the Arts, and Heritage, Ummi Bashir, refuted the claims on Monday, stating that Bomas remains government property.

“The State Department for Culture, the Arts, and Heritage categorically refutes these allegations. Bomas of Kenya has not been sold to anyone,” Bashir stated.

According to Bashir, an Executive Order issued in 2023 placed Bomas of Kenya under her department’s mandate.

She further explained that the development of the Bomas International Convention Complex (BICC) was approved by the Cabinet on August 8, 2023, following a memorandum presented by the then Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage, Peninah Malonza.

Bashir emphasized that plans to refurbish and upgrade Bomas of Kenya have been in consideration for the past decade, but the current administration has accelerated efforts to bring the project to fruition. She reassured the public that Bomas of Kenya remains under government ownership, with a valid title deed issued in 1971 and held in state custody.

The planned improvements aim to transform Bomas into a leading conferencing facility, enhancing its capacity and modernizing its purpose.

“BICC will become the market leader in the region, with multiple conferencing venues that will be a major upgrade from the facilities we have had for the past 50 years,” Bashir noted.

She reiterated that the public should not be misled by misinformation and assured Kenyans that Bomas of Kenya will continue to be a government facility.