Inside the silent settlement that saw Weston Hotel claim public land

As police were teargassing, maiming, and killing Gen Z demonstrators protesting the controversial Finance Bill 2024 on the streets last June, lawyers for the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and President William Ruto were quietly drafting a deal to settle the protracted Lang’ata land dispute involving the Weston Hotel.

The agreement, which was filed in the Lands Court in Nairobi, brought an end to a high-stakes legal battle that had raged for five years between the aviation regulator and the Head of State.