Tourists evacuated after Sh200m Kwale hotel is demolished
Demolished Sonrisa Villas in Galu Beach, Kwale County.
A Polish investor in Kwale County is seeking justice after part of her hotel was demolished on Friday, leaving tourists stranded.
Ms Iwona Strzelecka, the proprietor of Sh200 million Sonrisa Villas in Galu has been involved in a nine-year legal battle with a prominent Kenyan businessman.
“We saw two excavators get into the compound through the fence, they headed towards the main building that hosts restaurants,” said Assan Anwar, the investor's husband.
The two-acre property hosts four villas. Three buildings were demolished. The prominent businessman claims part of the land on which Sonrisa Villas sit.
It is not yet clear who sent the excavators. Mr Anwar said they have legal documents showing the land was genuinely acquired.
He added that they are facing losses after being forced to relocate stranded international tourists to different hotels.
Iwona Strzelecka, the proprietor of Sonrisa Villas during an earlier interview in Msambweni, Kwale County. on January 23, 2022. She is seeking justice after her Sh200 million property was demolished in land tussle with a prominent businessman.
“This is discouraging for a foreign investor. We had 15 international tourists at the hotel whom we have been forced to evacuate and book in nearby villas. This is a great loss to us,” he said.
He said that the hotel’s bookings for the coming months have also been cancelled.
He said his shocked wife was admitted to Palm Beach Hospital in Diani after the Friday incident.
Mr Anwar said he did not understand why the incident was being supervised by police officers. He asked the police to arrest those behind the demolition that happened three weeks after goons attempted to force their way into the property.
An excavator pulls down part of Sonrisa Villas in Galu Beach, Kwale County, on February 18, 2022.
“We were woken up at 3 am by excavators, our staff had to stop them from getting into our compound,” Ms Iwona said in an earlier interview.
Police have referred Nation.Africa to Kwale County Commissioner Gideon Oyagi who could not be reached on phone.
There is an ongoing court case regarding the property. This is not the first time the hotel is being demolished. In 2015, bulldozers brought down one of the villas.
