• On February 24, 2026, before the Administration and Internal Security Committee in Parliament, State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Katito confirmed a reality: state houses and lodges across Kenya—including Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu have fallen prey to land grabbing.

Nakuru’s newest landmark, the Encore Hotel, rises in Milimani with promises of prestige. Overlooking Lake Nakuru National Park and Menengai Forest, the multi‑storey property was marketed as the city’s premier destination for business tourism, leisure, and wellness. The hotel was meant to elevate Nakuru’s profile as a hub of growth and glamour.

Yet its foundation is now shadowed by scandal. On February 24, 2026, before the Administration and Internal Security Committee in Parliament, State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Katito confirmed a reality: state houses and lodges across Kenya—including Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu have fallen prey to land grabbing.

The revelation sharpened focus on the Encore Hotel, accused of being built on contested ground beside State House Nakuru. Legislators warned that multi‑billion projects next to State Houses and Lodges pose a grave security threat, demanding that construction of the Encore Hotel be stopped immediately.

On December 21, 2025, Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja alleged that taxpayers’ billions were being funneled into the project by Governor Susan Kihika and her family. MPs questioned the “audacity of the grabbers,” urging the Comptroller to prioritize Nakuru and Kisumu, where encroachment is most severe.

A National Pattern of Encroachment

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The Encore Hotel scandal is not isolated. In 2025, the Ethics and Anti‑Corruption Commission (EACC) recovered prime government property next to Bungoma State Lodge, valued at Sh35 million, after a court ruled it had been illegally acquired. Such cases underscore a national crisis: even lands reserved for the highest offices of state are vulnerable to seizure and private development.

Public Outrage

Kenyans online have voiced their frustration:

“Nothing will be left in this Kenya, government, public even private.”

“Do we truly have a country governed by law? If even state lodges can be seized, then whose land in Kenya can genuinely be considered secure?”

“The only country in the world where State Houses and State Lodgings lands are grabbed.”

Nakuru’s Encore Hotel may glitter as a beacon of luxury, but its story now embodies the city’s dual identity: a place of ambition and modern growth, shadowed by contested land deals and questions of governance. 

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