An employee of a renowned hotel in Ukunda narrates how Kakamega Governor’s son, Ian Oparanya, and his friend Ben Mwanjulu (Admin. Asst. Min. Of Transport and Infrastructure) partied on Labor Day weekend in their facility, without paying the bills. Instead, the two resorted to a loathsome drama and intimidating helpless hotel employees, with help of a Regional Police Commander.
On Saturday 1st, the hotelier received a call from Francis Mtalaki who corresponds for Citizen TV from Ukunda, making an inquiry if she could find a place for his brother (Ben Mwanjulu) and his friends to stay for the night.
”He asked me for rates and stated that his colleague’s brother is heading to Diani from Mombasa and would like a place to stay. He then shared the number of the guy with me and I went ahead and gave him a call. Once they arrived in the hotel, two guys and two ladies came out of a Toyota Noah. They were all intoxicated and were holding tumblers,” the hotelier says.
After catching up with Mr. Mwanjulu, she asked one of her receptionists to show Ben, Ian, and the other guests around and the different room categories, so that they could pick one (s) that suited them most.
”Once they were through with the show around I asked Ben if they were happy with the rooms. He said everything was perfect and they took two rooms, each for two adults,” she says.
The four settled in their respective rooms then proceeded to swim by the beach while having drinks. A few hours later they left the beach to order some more food plus cocktails, and went to the hotel’s swimming pool for another hour, without showing any signs of settling the bills.
Bothered, the hotelier asked the Kakamega governor’s son and his friend about the bills, including money for rooms they checked into, only to come face to face with an unexpected reality that awaited them.
”It was at this point that drama started and they changed the story, stating that they already booked somewhere else and they just wanted to check the place out. The commotion continued for at least 30mins, then Ben walked away from the reception saying we can’t do anything to him. Furthermore, he said that he can pull strings from places we’d never think of,” the hotelier explains.
Overwhelmed by Ian and his friends, she called for help from the tourist police at Ukunda station, then closed the hotel’s main gate to prevent her intoxicated rowdy guests from driving off. The police arrived 10mins later and took statements from both the hotel and the guests, without knowing, Ben already established contact with a senior police officer, to get them off the hook.
”While the police were talking to other parties, Ben brought one of the cops his phone and said that it’s the Regional Commander and he would like to talk to him. After that conversation, the police said they were taking all four of them to Ukunda police station.”
The hotel’s security supervisor was asked to accompany police to the station and give a detailed report of that evening’s incident. However, an hour later she received a call from the supervisor, telling her they had been requested to go home and report back to the police the following day at 11 am, only to find himself alone, with the perpetrators gone.
”The following day my security supervisor was at the station from 10:30am to 2pm. No one showed up and one of the officers at the station asked him to go home and go back the following day. I personally called the tourist police on Monday just to be taken in circles,” she reveals.
It is now two weeks since the incident happened, and no action has been taken by Ukunda police.
