Eka Hotel, with its strategic position next to the Nairobi National Park and near the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), is one of Kenya’s leading high end hotels – popular with tourists and well-heeled leisure seekers.
It is one of the many properties across the country associated with the late controversial developer Harban ‘Amrit’ Singh. The tycoon, who had a wife and three sons, d¡ed in 2015 leaving much of his vast wealth in the hands of his children.
Besides Eka Hotel, opened in 2012, Singh was also associated with the luxurious Olkulai Lodge in Amboseli and Castle Hotel in Mombasa.
But it was in real estate that he first made his billions, often in controversial circumstances that saw him dogged by còrruption allegat¡ons for much of his life.
Singh is associated with several prime properties in Nairobi that are today occupied by various corporates and parastatals, as well as residential properties. He was Safaricom’s landlord at their Westlands headquarters, and built View Park towers in the CBD before selling it to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). He was also associated with Skypark Plaza along Waiyaki Way.
He was also linked to Airport View Villas along Mbagathi Way, as well as the high-end Rehema and Chelsea Park apartments along Rhapta Road.
Singh, who was close to the late former President Daniel Moi, constantly faced allegat¡ons of being involved in land-grabbing and inflating costs in real estate deals with the government.
During the Moi era, Singh was responsible for the construction of Moi Girls High Schools across the country. He also reportedly secured lucrative tenders to construct National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) silos.
He also owned the 300-acre Aquila horticulture farm in Naivasha, Nakuru county as well as a shipping business in Kisumu managed by his sons. He was also linked to several pieces of prime land in Nairobi including a seven-acre parcel in Upper Hill, where an acre costs north of Ksh400 million.
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