Land tussle rocks sale of Boulevard hotel
Boulevard Hotel. It is part of the Sentrim Hotel portfolio. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Suit papers indicate that Boulevard is owned by Chezer Investments, which is one of the firms under the Sentrim umbrella. Sentrim is associated with billionaire tycoon Jac Patel.
- Westward Properties, which owns a piece of land adjacent to Boulevard, sued in 2008 claiming that the hotel had grabbed part of its land.
As the Sentrim Kenya Limited chain seeks a buyer to take over its entire Kenyan hotel portfolio, one of its key properties — Boulevard Hotel — remains at the centre of a protracted land battle.
The fight for a portion of land that Boulevard uses as its parking lot has given a peek into the intricate ownership structure that Sentrim has employed.
The new owner may inherit the battle, should its sale be completed before High Court judge Elijah Obaga determines the 10-year-old suit filed by Westward Properties.
Suit papers indicate that Boulevard is owned by Chezer Investments, which is one of the firms under the Sentrim umbrella. Sentrim is associated with billionaire tycoon Jac Patel.
Others are Mayhouse Limited, which is registered as the Hotel 680 owner.
ROYAL CASTLE HOTEL
Newgate Management Limited owns the 68-room Royal Castle hotel in Mombasa while Sentrim Kenya Limited owns the Sentrim Mara facility in Narok and the Sentrim Tsavo in Tsavo East, Taita-Taveta County.
The group also owns Samburu Lodge situated in Samburu National Reserve with 21 cottages, the newly built Elementaita Lodge on the shores of Lake Elementaita with 84 guest rooms and 58 cottages and Sentrim Amboseli located in the Amboseli National Park, with 60 tents.
Westward Properties, which owns a piece of land adjacent to Boulevard, sued in 2008 claiming that the hotel had grabbed part of its land.
Boulevard has been using the land as a parking lot since the 1970s and now wants Justice Obaga to award it the property under adverse possession.
CLAIM OWNERSHIP
Adverse possession is a legal principle that allows individuals to claim ownership of land after occupying it for several years without interruption. In Kenya, one can claim adverse possession after occupying a piece of land for 12 years.
Justice Obaga in June dismissed Boulevard’s application which sought to delay the suit until the National Land Commission (NLC) has completed investigations into Westward Properties’ title deed.
The NLC started its probe following a complaint by the Kenya National Highways Authority which claims that Westward’s land sits on a road reserve.
But the probe now hangs in the balance as NLC lost power to review grants on May 2, last year. The Constitution only gave the NLC five years to look into historical land disputes.
Knight Frank says the properties will be sold for Sh5.2 billion.
