Kileleshwa Ward MCA Robert Alai has sharply criticized former Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera, dismissing his claims of a politically orchestrated attack on his Kisumu hotel as “baseless and tribalistic nonsense.”
Speaking on social media, Alai framed the saga as a matter of failed business management and chronic rent default rather than political persecution.
“Nyakera’s recent assertions that Interior PS Raymond Omollo is behind his troubles in Kisumu are desperate deflections,” Alai stated. “These claims are designed to stoke ethnic tensions and shift blame from his own monumental failures as a tenant and businessman.”
Alai recounted the sequence of events surrounding Nyakera’s hotel, operated by Fairways Hospitality Kisumu Limited, which leases property from the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA).
He emphasized that Omollo, whose portfolio covers internal security and national administration, has no authority over LBDA or its assets, making allegations of political interference implausible.
According to Alai, Nyakera’s difficulties stem from a pattern of financial mismanagement. He leased the LBDA property in August 2019, branding it as a Best Western hotel and charging rates three to four times higher than comparable hotels in Kisumu.
COVID-19 affected the hospitality sector, but Alai noted that Nyakera compounded the problem through “massive arrears and bounced cheques,” citing court documents showing KSh 27.4 million owed by June 2025, which later ballooned to over KSh 40 million due to additional unpaid rent.
Alai highlighted that Fairways Hospitality had entered into a Consent Agreement with LBDA, committing to structured repayments. The agreement stipulated that defaulting on any instalment would make the full debt immediately payable, and LBDA could take remedial action.
Despite this, Nyakera repeatedly breached the agreement, with letters from September to December 2025 acknowledging unpaid amounts.
Legal efforts by Nyakera to halt enforcement were largely unsuccessful. In October 2025, Kisumu High Court dismissed his injunction application, ruling that LBDA’s legal remedies were justified.
Subsequent attempts in early 2026 to obtain ex parte orders in the Kisumu Magistrate Court and Business Premises Rent Tribunal were also overturned due to irregularities and non-disclosure of material facts.
Alai dismissed Nyakera’s claims that “goons” attacked his hotel on March 11, 2026, suggesting the timing of the allegations was intended to distract from his mismanagement.
He argued that blaming Omollo and invoking ethnic narratives was “peak hypocrisy,” as the Interior PS has no connection to the parastatal lease enforcement.
“Nyakera should stop weaponizing ethnicity to mask his failures,” Alai said. “He needs to pay his rent, reflect on his role in stunting development in Nyanza, and stop dragging innocent officials into his mess. Kenya deserves better than failed elites playing victim.”