Prominent Lawyer Decries Blatant Racism At Ololo Safari Lodge

Prominent lawyer Donald Kipkorir has called out Ololo Safari Lodge in Nairobi Safari Park for promoting racism by omission and not admitting African/black guests.

The lawyer says he had stories from friends before about the discrimination allegations against black guests but it was until himself tried to find out the truth by making reservation calls and due to his heavy indigenous accent (Kalenjin) he was turned down. “A friend once told me that its staff who are Black Kenyans racially profile their customers. As in, if you call with a Kenyan accent to book, you’ll always be told it is full. And indeed, I tried multiple times to book for lunch & because of my Kalenjin accent, I was told all the time it was fully booked.” He wrote.

Not giving up, Mr. Kipkorir tried using her daughter who has a British accent to make the booking and her request for as approved with the hotel unaware it was indeed making the reservation having been denied approval for his native accent, “One day, I called using my phone as always but this time, passed the phone to my daughter who though then a minor has posh English accent. We got a table same day. I never bothered to tell them who I was when we were there.”

The lawyer now questions the rationale behind the decision to discriminate against Africans and is even calling upon the government to probe the hotel with the view of scrutinizing their accounts, “What I don’t understand are two things: the lodge workers are black but don’t want blacks to go there! Which hotel will claim to be always full? Maybe KRA needs to check how much money Ololo Lodge is making as it is always fully booked!” He said.

Another racism case

The lodge is however not new to accusations of racism, in December 2022, another dissatisfied black guest came out to call the facility for the discrimination she went through during her stay.

According to a visitor to the hotel, the experience was not a pleasant one rather was met with open discrimination and described her experience as racial.

In a viral tweet, Ms. Hibo Yussuf who’s a founder and of HH & Associates Advocates narrates her experience with the hotel saying, “I have traveled in Kenya almost in all national parks and stayed in different hotels! This one was different, different treatment, racist undertones and pure discrimination!” She opens up a thread about her ordeal.

“I love the wildlife and endless safaris! I have traveled in Kenya almost in all national parks and stayed in different hotels! This one was different, different treatment, racist undertones and pure discrimination! I’m would not recommend to blacks!” Ms Hibo wrote.

“I stayed here for my birthday, booked for 2 nights and 3 days but left after the first night!The owner only talks and welcomes people who look like him, I mean his race!He was not welcoming to us and he made one of his workers “fred” who is a maasai share his culture. Which I thought at first was beautiful, by the set up was disturbing, the comments after each share by Fred was annoying! He made him share this stories infront of a bunch of white people who laughed at how big Maasai wedding are and how Fred reacted to malls and elevators!”

“Mr chapman, the owner of the lodge was leading the questioning. Fred kept talking about Maasai culture. He spoke about the drinking of blood! Mr chapman who had wine is his hand says while laughing “who drinks blood” mocking a whole culture! I was disturbed! Annoyed! Gutted. We had another black American sister there who was sitting alone at her dining table! My husband and I were so uncomfortable! Mr Chapman kept on leading Fred to speak, Fred says he wants to marry more women but not Europeans! Chapman says” year marry Africans they are cheap.”

She claimed Mr. Chapman had threatened her with a lawsuit if she shared her story on social media, “I wrote an email to mr chapman and his reply was funny to me! He thought he would threaten me with a defamation suit if I share my experience on social media!”

In her Twitter account, she warned others from visiting the lodge, “It’s a horrible experience, I will say it here, please avoid this place if you are a black person! I can’t believe I am saying this in Africa where we are home but the owner of this place is a terrible human being! Stay away from Ololo Lodge.” She wrote on X.