A number of Kenyan musicians and celebrities have turned their focus to investing in nightclubs and are making good profits from their trade.
Some are genuine nightclub owners while others are clout chasers who claim to own multi-million clubs they don’t actually own.
For instance, to boost the popularity and image of their clubs, real club owners are now incorporating the services of top celebs who are now becoming the face of the joints. These celebs have been known to sometimes claim ownership and offer inflated valuations amounting to tens of millions.
One local act recently claimed to own a Sh. 200 million club! A staggering Sh. 200 million…!
Well, in this article, we look at 5 popular nightclubs owned by renowned Kenyan celebrities, and, or claimed to be owned by local celebs.
Mwalimu Churchill
Mwalimu Churchill, alias Daniel Ndambuki is a popular radio presenter, comedian, and TV Host. He is the owner of the popular Pavillion XV lounge in Kitengela. The club is known for its electrifying music and nyama choma.
The resort has increasingly become popular, attracting people in their hundreds.
The country is known to host the best guest DJs, such as DJ Kalonje, DJ Kim Nickdee and DJ Lyta, and appearances by Kenya’s top artists, such as Otile Brown, Khaligraph Jones and Nadia Mukami, among many others.
Eugene Mbugua
Eugene is an entrepreneur and founder of Documentary and Reality Television Limited.
He was the youngest producer with a show on Kenyan national television when at 22 his first show Young Rich premiered on Kenya’s K24.
He has created and produced more television shows, including Young Rich, Get in The Kitchen, Our Perfect Wedding, Stori Yangu, My Friend, Being Bahati, Foods of Kenya and The Best of.
These shows have aired on K24, KTN, NTV, Maisha Magic East, Showmax, Iflix, Kwese, Startimes, and Trigger.
He owns the Number 7 club along Koinange Street in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD). He also owned a club with the same name located in the leafy suburbs of Westlands.
During a past interview, he revealed that the closure of the Westlands club cost him over Sh. 10 million.
KRG the Don
KRG is a famous Kenyan musician and businessman. He is normally referred to as “Bugha”
The Don opened one of the biggest clubs in the city, Casa Vera in 2021. In a past interview with Mungai Eve, KRG revealed that the nightclub is worth over Sh. 200 million. The amount is however unrealistic as he has been known to inflate figures in a bid to appear flashy.
“I’m not doing this alone, but to put everything in place including the stock it has cost me and my partners over Sh. 200 million,” he had alleged without providing a valuation report.
Eric Omondi
Eric Omondi is a popular comedian, actor and content creator. He made his comedy debut in Churchill Show, which aired on NTV in 2008.
He has since won three African Entertainment Awards USA for ‘Best Comedian’ in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
On September 1st, 2022, he claimed to have acquired a nightclub named Maxy’s Lounge located along Isiolo road. However, Omondi is notorious for clout chasing and lying about owning properties and this might have been another of his clout chasing games.
“For instance, the sound system will cost Sh. 4.5 million, the furniture will be around Sh. 3.8 million, the lighting will cost up to Sh.h2.7 million, the kitchen upgrade at Sh. 3.9 million and a VIP Bar at Sh. 2.2 million,” he had claimed.
“I want to use this facility to grow talent. I will allow upcoming artists to shoot their videos here, I’ll be hosting talent nights every Tuesday and basically use this space to grow Kenyan talent.”
Bien Aime Barasa
Bien is one of the members of Kenya’s top act group Sauti Sol. He is a vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist.
He owns Manhattan Club, located along Mombasa road on the first floor of the Imaara mall.
During a past interview, he revealed that his motivation for starting the club was to create a place where he could have fun.
“I was trying to create an environment which even I can have fun. I realized that in my life, I don’t go out more often. Because I realized I get paid whenever I go out and it made my relationship with clubs more transactional and that is when I made a vow to build my own spot where I can feel good and have people have fun with me,” he said.