A view of Milele Beach Hotel on the North Coast in this photograph taken on August 31, 2026. The church-sponsored hotel is located along the Kenyan coast.
The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) has launched a Sh703 million funds drive to save its prime Milele Beach Hotel in Mombasa from debt, drawing on contributions from its 4.8 million members while exploring government support and other sources of financing.
The church says it has already paid Sh50 million to KCB after negotiations reduced the outstanding debt from Sh1.07 billion to Sh753 million. It now has three months to raise the remaining Sh703 million and redeem the property. The rescue effort comes after years of borrowing, failed attempts to transfer the property, court battles and receivership involving the Presbyterian Foundation and National Bank that have threatened the hotel, which PCEA considers a key income-generating asset.
The hotel is owned through the Presbyterian Foundation, a limited company serving as the church’s property-holding vehicle. PCEA lists Milele Beach Hotel among the foundation’s assets. In letters dated July 21 and August 28, the church outlined three options for raising the money by seeking government support, pursuing compensation for its Westlands property and mobilising contributions from members through a Paybill and other channels.
One of those efforts will take PCEA leaders to State House. About 500 clerics are scheduled to meet with President William Ruto on Wednesday. However, the church has sought to draw a line between the planned meeting and political engagement. General Assembly Moderator Thegu Mutahi said PCEA was “respectable, independent and non-partisan” and would not compromise its independence or seek political patronage.
Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) Moderator Rt Rev Patrick Thegu Mutahi.
“For avoidance of doubt, PCEA is not organising, sponsoring or endorsing any delegation to visit any politician to seek financial favours or political patronage, whether at State House or elsewhere,” he said.
The appeal to members was reinforced during Sunday's preaching by retired General Assembly Moderator Jesse Kamau, who urged congregants to give willingly despite complaints about the demands being placed on members. “Do not give while complaining,” Rev Kamau said, adding that members should give “willingly, cheerfully, knowingly and sacrificially” because the contributions were being made to the Lord.
Presbeta Investment Limited
PCEA says Milele Beach Hotel, formerly Giriama Hotel, was acquired in 2007 and developed through contributions from members across 61 presbyteries as an income-generating asset. Court papers show that the Presbyterian Church Men Fellowship (PCMF) later became involved in the ownership through Presbeta Investment Ltd, which sought to acquire the hotel in 2015 through a Sh1.2 billion Asset Purchase Agreement under which it was to take over an outstanding National Bank loan.
The church describes the facility as a strategic asset for generating mission resources. It sits on a nine-acre seafront in Mombasa and “is the only non-alcoholic establishment on that stretch of the coast”. It later moved from investment and bank financing to receivership and a Sh703 million redemption effort. “We are pleased to report that the Church has demonstrated its commitment by paying the initial sum of Sh50 million required by the bank, and is now mobilising, within the strict timelines set by the bank, the balance of approximately Sh703 million,” Secretary General Rev Robert Waihenya wrote to Dr Ruto on July 21.
PCEA said the President’s intervention halted disposal of the hotel while it was under receivership and prevented its sale at what it considered a gross undervalue. “The church has further resolved, unequivocally, that the hotel is not for sale, and it is our firm intention to redeem, revamp and reopen it for the benefit of the church, the people of Mombasa and the nation at large,” Dr Waihenya wrote.
Another letter dated August 28 says the Presbyterian Foundation reported to the Business Committee that negotiations had reduced the debt from Sh1.07 billion to Sh753 million. The planned State House meeting comes as PCEA leaders issued different statements about their engagement with political leaders.
The statement comes days after an August 28 PCEA communication said Dr Ruto had given the church a date for an administrative visit and listed government support he reportedly promised among three approaches to raising money to redeem Milele Beach Hotel. The communication said the Business Committee, under Minute 5359, resolved to pursue redemption within a three-month extension granted by the bank.
The PCEA’s current position is rooted in a financing arrangement dating years back. In August 2016, the Environment and Land Court recorded that the Presbyterian Foundation had charged several Mombasa properties to National Bank of Kenya and that the outstanding loan stood at Sh767.6 million as of December 22, 2015. The charged properties included six parcels of land in Mainland North.
Presbeta Investment Limited, which is owned by PCMF, and Milele Beach Hotel Complex filed the case against National Bank, the Presbyterian Foundation and Spotlight Intercepts Auctioneers. Court records show Presbeta entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with the Foundation and NBK on December 22, 2015, saying it would pay the outstanding loan for the transfer of the properties.
Presbeta stated that after execution of the purchase agreement, it took possession of the suit properties and incorporated the Presbyterian Foundation through which it invested in the hotel on the suit properties known as Milele Beach Hotel Complex. The bank said the properties secured an aggregate Sh811 million facility and that the foundation had defaulted.
It said Presbeta had failed to pay a Sh150 million deposit required under the purchase agreement. This default prompted the bank to appoint an auctioneer to sell the suit properties by public auction. The High Court allowed NBK to proceed with recovery of a Sh727 million balance.
A view of the Milele Beach Apartments whose Construction stalled due to lack of Funds.
The document shows that Presbeta had agreed to buy the hotel for Sh1.2 billion and take over the loan and that it was a term of the purchase agreement that upon execution of the same, it would pay Sh150 million directly to the bank as a deposit of the purchase price. However, according to the bank, Presbeta did not pay the lender the said deposit. “Since the first plaintiff (Presbeta Investment) and the second defendant (Presbyterian Foundation) defaulted in their obligations, it (the bank) proceeded to realise its security over the suit properties,” the court heard.
In May 2018, the Environment and Land Court struck out Presbeta’s suit after finding that the dispute belonged in arbitration. The court was also informed that the plaintiffs had vacated the hotel. After the suit was struck out, warrants of attachment were issued to the Spotlight Intercepts Auctioneers on October 6, 2023, and the same proceeded to proclaim goods in the hotel.
In March 2024, the Environment and Land Court considered a Presbyterian Foundation application after the auctioneer proclaimed goods at Milele Beach Hotel. The foundation said it owned the hotel and had no affiliation with Milele Beach Hotel Complex Limited. The court found the proclamation vague and set it aside, along with any subsequent sale process against the foundation, holding that execution should target the plaintiffs (Presbeta Investment), who were the judgment debtors.
The Kenya Gazette shows that Kamal Anantroy of Anant Bhatt LLP was appointed receiver and manager on December 16, 2024, by NBK. In January last year, the foundation sued NBK over a statutory notice seeking sale of properties linked to the Sh811 million facility. It said it had been paying about Sh13 million monthly and had paid more than Sh2.3 billion, disputing NBK’s demand.
NBK said the loan account had fallen into serious arrears and that construction of the planned luxury apartments at Milele Beach Hotel had stalled. The bank said the apartment superstructure remained incomplete.
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