State House will for the next two months remain closed to allow renovations of the 117-year-old building.
A report on its condition says parts of the state facility has become unfit for habitation, the report further proposing construction of a new Presidential residence.
Sources at State House however say President Ruto declined the proposal to build a new residence which would have consumed not less than KSH. 2B, and only okayed renovations on the existing building.
The renovations will however not affect State House’s design. They include firming up of walls, pillars, sections of the roof and floors. The minor constructions have made President Ruto a nomad between multiple State Houses and State Lodges across the country since last Christmas.
“He will be staying where it is easy for him to reach the next assignment the following morning. All other State Houses and State Lodges are open therefore closing the one in Nairobi is not a crisis to him,” says a State House rep.
This has been set to go on for the next eight weeks. The President has in the last two weeks spent time in Nakuru State House and Eldoret State Lodge where he also hosted official meetings.
According to a Presidential schedule, while State House Nairobi remains closed, President Ruto is set to visit Kakamega, Kisumu, Sagana then Mombasa, where he will make use of the regions’ state facilities.
Built in 1907 and sitting on over 700 acres of land, Kenya’s State House was the first official residence of the Governor of British East Africa when Kenya was a colony within the British Empire as the Government House.
Unlike today that it acts as the official President’s residence and office, previously, the British Governor would have his office in a small building next to Nyayo House at the corner of Uhuru Highway and Kenyatta Avenue and only go to State House for the night.
Further reports indicate that State House’s condition got dilapidated during President Moi’s tenure and not much has been done to improve its habitability.
Additional Info: The Standard
