In 2015, President William Ruto purchased a 900-acre ranch in Kilgoris, Narok County. Recently, conversations around the ranch have increased after various social media descriptions alleged this was the new center of power in the country, where high level meetings are held as well as big national decisions made.
Little is however known about the history of the ranch and the mansion that sits within it. The expansive property once belonged to Joseph Murumbi after it was allocated to him on February 9th, 1977 by the Narok City Council.
One of Kenya’s most reclusive political figures, Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi served as Kenya’s second Vice President under Jomo Kenyatta. His political stint didn’t last long after he departed from government at the end of 1966, bringing an end to his aspirations of socio-economic liberation in Kenya.
After disagreeing with Mzee Kenyatta’s policies, the gutsy politician retired to his Intona Ranch in Transmara where he had built a luxurious retirement home.
Initially, Murumbi had purposed the ranch to be an experimental dairy enterprise. Due to his mixed ethnicity, half Maasai and half Goan, the locals in Narok were more than happy to gift him 2000 acres.
He gained the property through his mother’s Maasai land rights wherein he built Intona Ranch in Trans Mara, Narok County. Joseph Murumbi went on to construct a 35-roomed Spanish Style mansion that was intended to be an exclusive getaway for his family. Other amenities included a farm manager’s house and a guest wing.
The property housed so many servants. Murumbi’s close friends praised him for his gesture and generosity, stating that he would always slaughter a goat and invite his friends who had the option of landing on an airstrip or coming by road.
The place was a beautiful spectacle, adding that it was also near to world-famous Maasai Mara reserve. However, wrangles surrounding the property emerged when Murumbi took a Sh. 8.6 million loan from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) to finance agricultural activities, tying the property as collateral on loan default.
Unfortunately, Joseph Murumbi fell ill and was unable to repay the loan. His wife, Sheila Kaine Murumbi, bowed to the pressure from the corporation and reached out to Murumbi’s political contacts for assistance. At this point, Murumbi was confined to wheelchair locomotion.
However, when help finally came around, they realized AFC had already taken possession of the land legally when no buyer came around following an auction.
After his death in standoff ensued over the unpaid loan between the local community and the AFC. Despite AFC being bent on recovering their loan, the Maasai in the area fought back, asserting that the land was their heritage, and they could do with it as they pleased.
The matter became complicated when Murumbi’s close associates and political powers insisted that the property belonged to Joseph Murumbi.
“The late Murumbi was a humble man who lived with us harmoniously; we are surprised to know that he secretly took a loan using the title deed of our land as a collateral without informing us,” said one Maasai, claiming that the government should consider writing off the loan as a reward to Murumbi’s act of service to the nation.
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In September 2015, a company, North Mogor Holdings (NMH) was registered. 5 days after its establishment, NMH wrote to the AFC requesting to purchase 976 acres from the Intona Ranch on behalf of the sitting president, William Ruto.
The request was granted for a total of Sh. 63.44 million agreed to be settled within 90 days. A 25% down payment of Sh. 15.6 million was put in. On November 13th, 2015 only Sh. 634,000 was paid as stamp duty.
At the point of Ruto’s purchase of the mansion, it was already in a dilapidated state and had become more of a tourist attraction. What was once a beautiful area had been vandalized, with weeds growing from cracked walls.
In 2019, the Trusted Society of Human Rights accused Ruto, who was Deputy President at the time, over the acquisition of the property. It was later revealed that President Ruto cleared the Sh. 8.9 million loan owed to AFC by Joseph Murumbi.
Ruto restored the ranch and its mansion to its previous glory. It has now become his beloved residence for political and personal retreats. Ruto, known for his astute agribusiness entrepreneurship acumen, conducts large scale farming and cattle rearing on the property.
Reportedly, the Intona Ranch neighbors former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 1,000-acre ranch in Oloolmoni, Lolgorian Ward, Narok County.
