The Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) has issued a detailed statement responding to claims by former Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera that armed individuals attacked a hotel linked to him in Kisumu.
In a press release dated March 11, 2026, the authority said the dispute surrounding Fairways Hospitality Kisumu is purely a commercial landlord-tenant matter and not a politically motivated attack as suggested in Nyakera’s statements.
LBDA explained that its relationship with the hotel operator began in 2019 under a lease agreement.
According to the authority, the tenant later accumulated significant rent arrears.
The statement said the company operating the hotel entered into a voluntary consent agreement on June 3, 2025, where it acknowledged an outstanding debt of KSh27,431,473.
However, LBDA claims the tenant failed to honor the agreed repayment plan and also stopped paying current rent beginning May 2025. The authority now says the total outstanding arrears exceed KSh25.9 million.
The agency further accused the tenant of misusing court processes to delay recovery of the rent.
It said that when the authority began legal steps to recover the arrears, the hotel operator moved to the High Court in Kisumu and obtained temporary orders without fully disclosing the extent of the rental default.
According to LBDA, the High Court of Kenya later dismissed the tenant’s request for an injunction on February 12, 2026, affirming the authority’s contractual right to recover unpaid rent through distress measures.
The authority also stated that the tenant subsequently sought new orders from a magistrate’s court without informing it that the High Court had already ruled on the matter. LBDA said the magistrate later set aside those orders after learning of the earlier decision.
Further proceedings at the Business Premises Rent Tribunal also resulted in the suspension of additional orders obtained by the tenant.
LBDA said the lease agreement was formally terminated on February 12, 2026, following the court ruling. The authority now considers the tenant to be an unlawful occupant of the premises.
The agency also clarified that it has no direct contractual relationship with Nyakera, noting that the lease agreement was signed with a company known as Fairways Hospitality Kisumu Limited.
In the statement, LBDA called on police to investigate Nyakera’s public remarks in which he reportedly admitted firing two gunshots during the incident. The authority said he has no legal right to occupy the property.
LBDA further condemned attempts to politicize the dispute or incite ethnic tension over the matter.
The authority said it remains committed to recovering public funds and will continue pursuing legal avenues to enforce the court orders and recover the outstanding rent.