Kibaki stays in Sh209,000 hotel in Jo'burg

Tuesday, 14 June 2011 00:03 BY STAR CORRESPONDENT

WELCOME: President Mwai Kibaki arives at Waterkloof Airforce base in Johannesburg, South Africa.

PRESIDENT Kibaki and his delegation spent close to Sh3 million during their three-day stay at the upmarket Saxon Boutique Hotel in Sandhurst, Johannesburg. They were attending the EAC, Comesa, SADC tripartite free trade area meeting.
Kibaki was accompanied by Cabinet ministers Prof George Saitoti, Amos Kimunya, Prof Hellen Sambili, Chirau Mwakwere, Franklin Bett;  MPs Eugene Wamalwa, Kiema Kilonzo and other senior government officials.
The ministers and other officials in the delegation stayed at the Intercontinental Sandton Towers where the rate for a standard room is Sh28,985 (US$341) while the deluxe rooms which come in three ranges cost between Sh34,800 (R2,769) for a deluxe king to Sh39,000 (R3,012) for a corner deluxe room to Sh51,000 (R3,962) for a Club Floor king-sized room. President Kibaki stayed in a presidential suite at the Saxon Boutique Hotel and Spa that costs Sh209,363 (R16,000) a night.
Guests are served a complimentary bottle of champagne that is replenished every night by the hotel as well as port and sherry. They also have a 24-hour butler service. The exclusive hotel stands behind high walls and has a high wooden sliding gate which opens into a  garden oasis.
The hotel has hosted US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, former US President Bill Clinton, rock star Mick Jagger and actors Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman. Nelson Mandela wrote parts of his biography A Long Walk To Freedom at the hotel and his portrait adorns its walls.
It is not known who paid the expenses for the African Heads of State attending the summit. However, political analyst Stephen Friedman was reported in South Africa's the Times newspaper saying the SADC secretariat funded the SADC delegates. The SADC receives annual contributions of about R175 million (Sh2,289,916,762) from its member states..  The all-suite hotel, set on six acres of land, has 24 suites and three villas. It is close to Sandton and the CBD.
Kibaki arrived in Johannesburg on Saturday evening for a three-day official visit. His plane touched down at Waterkloof Airforce Base shortly before 5 pm local time.
On arrival, President Kibaki was received by South Africa senior government officialsa and Kenya's High Commissioner to South Africa Ambassador Thomas Amolo before inspecting a guard of honour mounted by a detachment of South African Airforce.
He was in Johannesburg with other Comesa, SADC and EAC heads of state to launch negotiations for the establishment of a tripartite free trade area comprising the three regional blocs.
They discussed the time frame for harmonisation of trade, customs and infrastructure policies of the three blocs which have a combined population of 527 million people. The meeting was therefore considered historic not only for economic benefits but also for integration of Africa.
At the first tripartite summit held two years ago in Kampala, it was agreed that the transport and energy master plans be harmonised.Last month, Prime Minister Raila Odinga was caught up in controversy after Cherengany MP Joshua Kuttuny claimed in Parliament that he spent Sh600,000 a night at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York last April on a state tour.But in a statement, Raila denied the allegations and said he spent Sh136,000 a day for the three days he was at the hotel.
His suite included a meeting room, the bedroom, a dining room and a bedroom annex for one bodyguard and a personal assistant.  “The other members of the PM delegation stayed in standard rooms at the cost of US$250 (Sh20,000) per night,” the PM's Chief of Staff Caroli Omondi said at the time.
 Omondi said the hotel had been chosen by the Kenyan embassy in US and hosted Kenyan delegations to New York for decades.“Indeed, our delegation to the UN General Assembly led by HE Mwai Kibaki, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya, have stayed at the Waldorf Astoria,” Omondi said.