Lucy Weru, a business tycoon based in the Mount Kenya region, gained national attention in August 2007 when she forcibly expelled former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his entourage from her hotel, the Karatina Tourist Lodge in Nyeri County. Apart from the hotel, Weru owns other businesses, including Maathai supermarkets and properties in Nairobi and other parts of the country. Prior to the incident, Weru was not widely known.
Reports suggest that Odinga and his supporters visited the Karatina Tourist Lodge after attending a funeral service in Nyeri. Weru confronted them, expressing her disapproval of their presence and demanding they leave immediately, stating her opposition to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. Despite appeals, Weru insisted that Odinga and his group depart, prompting them to leave.
Weru later justified her actions, claiming that Odinga had visited the lodge without notice, turning it into a political meeting venue that inconvenienced other guests. She called on Odinga to apologize for not informing her in advance. Odinga, in response, forgave Weru and expressed his intention to meet and have tea with her.
Lucy Weru is known to be the mother-in-law of the late former President Mwai Kibaki’s son, David Kagai, and the renowned city lawyer Donald Kipkorir.
