Waiyaki Family Ordered to Surrender Four Nyari Apartments to Buyers

The family of former Foreign Affairs minister Munyua Waiyaki has been ordered to surrender four apartments in Nyari. Rosslyn House Ltd and Rosslyn House Management Ltd, co-owned by the former minister’s kin, must hand the units back to buyers who paid for them in full.

Arbitrator Peter Njeru ruled that the two firms had no right to give possession of the apartments to Tribe Hospitality Solutions Ltd for letting to the public. The action took place without the owners’ consent.

Elizabeth Waiyaki had emailed the claimants confirming they were free to occupy the apartments. The arbitrator found this incompatible with the later change of locks. He noted the respondents spoke with two voices and admitted in cross-examination that they took possession without consent.

The arbitrator also ruled against the firms for changing earlier agreed terms that allowed apartment owners to live in their units. He faulted them for dropping Tamarind Group as the development’s manager and replacing it with Tribe Hospitality Solutions.

Tribe Hospitality Solutions let the four apartments to the public for four months. The Rosslyn House firms must now disclose the rental revenue earned during that period. The firms claim they collected Sh2.1 million over 20 months, an average of about Sh26,000 per unit each month.

Saveeta Resorts, Mira Hill Ltd and Paramamba Ltd dispute those figures. They argue the amounts are inconsistent with rental rates in the upmarket Nyari suburb.

The apartments sit in Enaki town, a 22-acre residential resort within Nyari in Nairobi County. Saveeta Resorts Ltd bought one unit in 2015 and another in 2022. Mira Hill Ltd and Paramamba Ltd each purchased one unit in 2015.

The unlawful possession forms part of multiple disputes the three buyers have had with the Rosslyn House firms since 2015. All matters so far decided in arbitration have gone in favour of the buyers.

Through Rosslyn House Ltd, the Waiyaki family and other investors developed the apartments for a reported Sh10 billion. The residential resort was designed for 450 housing units, a 6.3-acre spiritual garden and other amenities. Units were sold off-plan.

Buyers were initially told the property would be managed by Tamarind Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Tamarind Group, for at least the first seven years after completion. The apartments were first named Tamarind Tree Suites Rosslyn.

After construction ended and the units were handed over in 2022, the Rosslyn firms replaced Tamarind with Tribe Hospitality Solutions, part of the group behind Tribe Hotel and Trademark Hotel. The development was renamed Trademark Suites at Enaki.

Under the new model, owners were limited to a maximum of 14 nights a year in their own units. Marketing and letting passed to Tribe, with rental income pooled and shared.

The buyers requested leases in early 2023. Drafts arrived 14 months later, accompanied by redacted copies of the master service agreement with Tribe. The firms then took control of the four apartments, changed the locks and began renting them out.

One of the directors discovered the change only in March 2025. The owners filed a complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and commenced arbitration.

The Rosslyn firms proposed selling the apartments to other parties and refunding the buyers. The arbitrator rejected that option, stating the claimants had paid the full purchase price and remained the beneficial owners.